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A senior govt at one in every of China’s greatest photo voltaic gear teams has known as on western governments to “let the best technology win”, as Chinese language firms and officers hit again towards rising protectionism within the US and Europe.
Zhou Shijun, who leads world advertising and marketing for Arctech, a producer of mounting techniques for large-scale photo voltaic installations, mentioned nations risked slowing their response to local weather change by introducing commerce boundaries on Chinese language merchandise.
In an interview with the Monetary Instances, Zhou mentioned that implementing protectionist measures fairly than prioritising the very best expertise would “come back to haunt” the event of the renewable vitality trade.
Talking at Arctech’s headquarters in Kunshan, an industrial metropolis west of Shanghai, Zhou mentioned the onset of commerce boundaries was unfairly hitting producers of extra superior applied sciences that didn’t have extra output.
Zhou argued that the majority firms within the photo voltaic trade with overcapacity issues had been producing cheaper, lower-end applied sciences. The dynamic is just like the auto trade, the place producers of automobiles with inner combustion engines have extra extra capability than these making electrical autos.
“We do have concerns that geopolitical tensions are affecting our global business. What we’re doing right now is diversifying,” he mentioned.
Zhou added that whereas China would “always” be its greatest market, the corporate was concentrating on progress within the Center East, Asia and Latin America and had no plans to enter the US.
Shanghai-listed Arctech, which has a market capitalisation of $1.9bn, reported annual revenues of $886mn in 2023. Arctech’s monitoring techniques assist large-scale solar energy crops by rotating panels all through the day for better publicity to the solar.
China accounts for greater than 80 per cent of photo voltaic manufacturing globally, the results of years of state funding, intense native competitors and speedy progress in home demand for inexperienced applied sciences over current years.
Regardless of forecasts of strong long-term demand within the sector, elements of the photo voltaic manufacturing trade in China have been turning to exports to promote extra provide. This has brought about costs to break down and sparked complaints from the US and Europe over Beijing’s industrial coverage and commerce practices.
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden sharply elevated tariffs on Chinese language imports, together with electrical autos and photo voltaic cells. Two days later, he introduced plans to finish an exemption from Trump-era tariffs on a sort of photo voltaic panel unit typically utilized in giant initiatives.
The EU has, over the previous 9 months, launched investigations into China’s electrical car, photo voltaic and wind industries. European officers have additionally revealed a report on state-induced distortions within the Chinese language financial system.
Zhou mentioned that as Arctech tried to extend market share outdoors China, it was making an attempt to stability native necessities and expertise sharing calls for from abroad companions with out giving up mental property.
Regardless of concern about rising geopolitical rigidity, Arctech believed the worldwide uptake of large-scale renewable vitality was “irreversible and inevitable” and anticipated the world to comply with China in growing bigger photo voltaic installations, Zhou mentioned.
The corporate has three factories manufacturing its monitoring techniques in China and is becoming a member of a rising variety of main Chinese language clean-technology firms, together with electrical car maker BYD and battery producer CATL, in attempting to find new manufacturing bases nearer to overseas markets.
Arctech already has a manufacturing facility in India, a partnership with the Adani conglomerate, and is constructing a brand new manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. In Spain, the corporate has a analysis and growth facility and is planning to construct one other manufacturing facility in Brazil.
