The People's Republic of China foresees a target of 30 GW for installed wind power capacity by 2010 (2008: 12 GW). This paper reports on the technical and economic potentials of wind power, the recent development, existing obstacles, and related policies in China. The barriers to further commercialization of the wind power market are important and may deter the 100 GW capacity target of the Chinese government by 2020. The paper concludes that the diffusion of wind power in China is an important element for not only reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, but also for worldwide progress of wind power technology and needed economies of scale. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.