By Xiaofei Xu
China has vowed to reduce excessive competition and oversupply in its solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, which is continuing to explore global markets.
Industry and Information Technology Minister Li Lecheng told 14 representatives from solar PV manufacturers and industry associations on Thursday that the 鈥渋ndustry must be governed in accordance with laws and regulations, and disorderly low-price competition should be comprehensively addressed鈥, the ministry said in a statement released after their meeting in Beijing.
鈥淐ompanies should be guided to improve product quality, promote the orderly phase-out of outdated production capacity, and achieve healthy and sustainable development,鈥 Li said.
On Tuesday, at a meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, the country鈥檚 top economic decision-making body, President Xi Jinping took aim at 鈥渄isorderly low-price competition鈥 and ordered the removal of excess industrial capacity.
At Thursday鈥檚 meeting with Li, PV industry representatives talked about the difficulties they faced in production, innovation and competition, and offered suggestions for possible policy support, the ministry said.
Li urged those present to have a 鈥渃omprehensive and objective view of the development landscape of the photovoltaic industry鈥 to 鈥渇urther consolidate and enhance鈥 China鈥檚 advantages in the industry.
China has become the world鈥檚 dominant PV manufacturer in the past decade. A report by the International Energy Agency in July 2022 said the country was home to the world鈥檚 top 10 suppliers of solar PV manufacturing equipment and its market share in all the manufacturing stages of solar panels 鈥 from polysilicon, ingots and wafers to cells and modules 鈥 exceeded 80 per cent.
Its success has significantly reduced the cost of solar energy and helped China expand rapidly in the sector. The country installed a record-breaking 277 gigawatts of solar energy last year. Together with wind capacity, they accounted for 42 per cent of China鈥檚 total installed power capacity, surpassing coal for the first time, according to a report from German clean energy think tank Agora Energiewende.
Sacha Courtial, a China researcher at the French think tank Jacques Delors Institutes, said Europe had accepted China鈥檚 dominance in solar PV manufacturing and had moved on to pursue opportunities in solar energy installation and maintenance.
However, China has also been struggling to fix overcapacity concerns in its PV manufacturing industry.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has made multiple attempts to guide the industry to scale down production.
Late last year it published a revised solar PV industry standard with the aim of forcing 鈥渢he accelerated exit of outdated production capacity to reduce excessive internal competition within the industry鈥.