Since the 20th century, the global economic system has undergone profound structural transformation, with international trade gradually shifting from the traditional division of labor based on final products to a new paradigm centered on production tasks, thus promoting the formation and expansion of global value chains. Against this backdrop, developed countries usually dominate the free trade system, while countries in the Global South often participate in a passive or subordinate manner. However, with the expansion of global production networks, some Southern countries, leveraging their resource endowments and policy support, have gradually gained more active roles in areas such as green energy. The reshaping of global value chains provides a new development model for the energy industry, and the rise of green energy has gradually transformed the position of Southern countries in the international division of labor from the periphery to the center. Comparing the cases of China and Brazil, this paper analyzes the impact of their industrial policies on industrial development capabilities (the innovation level, manufacturing capacity, market scale), and further explores the differences in the positions of countries in the Global South in green energy value chains. These Southern countries cultivate industrial development capabilities through autonomous, balanced, and dependent industrial policies, thus presenting different development paths of leapfrogging, advancing, or stagnation within the global value chains. Through comparative case analysis, this paper reveals how countries in the Global South can upgrade their green energy industries through industrial policies and gain greater industrial competitiveness in the global value chains.
