Regan currently has no evident views on foreign policy or U.S.-China relations on the topic of environmental protection, but recognizes the necessity of partnerships in rebuilding the EPA and the power of China has a manufacturing competitor. Regan said:

We need a partnership to be established, a very strong partnership with state and local governments as well as the private sector, to chart these goals…We have a lot of work to do. We’ve lost four years.

In his Senate confirmation hearing on February 3, 2021, Regan mentioned China in the light of a manufacturing competitor: “What we find is most of the parts that we want to install come from China. We are finding that if we don’t capture the market, we are going to fall behind. I believe that is the same for solar, it is for cars, there is a lot that we can capture in terms of manufacturing and the like to remain globally competitive.”

In an April interview leading up to the Earth Day 2021 summit, Regan directly lists China with Russia and India in a way that infers that these countries can be assisted by U.S. advancement in carbon emission-cutting technologies. The statement was in response to a question that framed China and Russia as American “adversaries” that “continue to increase emissions at will.”

…we can export these [carbon emission-cutting] technologies internationally to countries like China and Russia and India….expanding our global footprint internationally from a technological advancement standpoint.

In a similar interview with NPR in November 2021, Regan was asked about the meaning of signing a recent global methane pledge even without India, Russia and China-big polluters-being on board. Regan responded:  

You know, this pledge is meaningful. We are exerting leadership. This proposed rule – we have 70% reduction in methane by 2030 just in the United States alone. We’re going to demonstrate that the technology exists, is cost-effective, and other countries will fall in line.