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China urges solar firms to find global partners to navigate tariffs, trade tensions

Commerce ministry official asks companies to seek partnerships in belt and road countries and invest in solar power projects

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A worker checks solar photovoltaic modules used in solar panels at a factory in Haian in eastern Jiangsu province. Photo: AFP

China’s solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers should tie up with foreign companies to navigate geopolitical and trade challenges to maintain the country’s grip on the sector and boost revenues after exports fell 35 per cent this year, a Ministry of Commerce official told industry representatives.

Gu Yu, deputy director of the ministry’s Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, urged PV makers to seek cooperation with local companies in the Belt and Road Initiative countries and explore opportunities through investments in solar power projects. The bureau’s main function is to provide trade solutions to companies overseas and conduct anti-dumping investigation on imports.

“The world’s clean energy transition should not only be a China story, it should also be a global story with different countries joining hands,” Gu said in a speech at China’s annual solar industry conference on Thursday in Yibin, in southwestern Sichuan province.

Gu’s appeal comes after the US last week announced a new round of tariffs on solar panel imports from four Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam – over dumping allegations.

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The move will have a significant impact on Chinese manufacturers, which have already been hit with higher tariffs from the US and the European Union this year. Many companies consider Southeast Asia a haven to transfer production capacity overseas in an attempt to bypass tariffs on direct imports from China.

The nation’s PV makers are also struggling with excess capacity and a debilitating price war that has triggered a wave of mergers and bankruptcies. Industry executives on Wednesday called on the government to implement rules similar to those for the steel and cement industries to stem a slide in the sector.
Yujie Xue
Yujie is a business reporter for the Post with a focus on energy transition, climate change and sustainability issues. She previously worked as a technology reporter in the Post’s Shenzhen bureau. Yujie graduated from Boston University with a degree in mass communication.
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