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A senior govt at certainly one of China’s greatest photo voltaic gear teams has known as on western governments to “let one of the best know-how win”, as Chinese firms and officers rail towards rising US protectionism. and Europe.
Zhou Shijun, who heads international gross sales for Arctech, a producer of mounting techniques for large-scale photo voltaic installations, stated nations threat slowing down their response to local weather change by to introduce commerce boundaries to Chinese merchandise.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Zhou stated that implementing protectionist measures as a substitute of prioritizing one of the best know-how “will come again to hang-out” the event of the renewable vitality trade.
Speaking at Arctech’s headquarters in Kunshan, an industrial metropolis west of Shanghai, Zhou stated the introduction of commerce boundaries unfairly hit producers of extra superior applied sciences with out extra output. .
Zhou argued that the majority firms within the photo voltaic trade with overcapacity issues are producing cheaper, inferior applied sciences. The dynamic is much like the auto trade, the place producers of automobiles with inside combustion engines have extra extra capability than producers of electrical automobiles.
“We have issues that geopolitical tensions are affecting our international enterprise. What we’re doing now’s diversifying,” he stated.
Zhou added that whereas China will “all the time” be the most important market, the corporate is focusing on progress within the Middle East, Asia and Latin America and has no plans to enter the US.
Shanghai-listed Arctech, with a market capitalization of $1.9bn, studies annual income of $886mn by 2023. Arctech’s monitoring techniques help large-scale solar energy crops by rotating panels all through the day for higher publicity to the solar.
China accounts for greater than 80 p.c of the world’s photo voltaic manufacturing, the results of years of state funding, intense native competitors and quickly rising home demand for inexperienced applied sciences lately.
Despite forecasts of robust long-term demand within the sector, elements of China’s photo voltaic manufacturing trade have turned to exports to promote extra provide. This induced costs to break down and sparked complaints from the US and Europe about Beijing’s industrial coverage and commerce practices.
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden sharply raised tariffs on Chinese imports, together with electrical automobiles 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 sometimes utilized in large-scale initiatives.
The EU has, up to now 9 months, launched investigations into China’s electrical car, photo voltaic and wind industries. European officers additionally revealed a report on the distortions attributable to the state of China’s economic system.
Zhou stated that whereas Arctech is attempting to extend market share exterior of China, it’s attempting to steadiness native necessities and must share know-how from abroad companions with out giving up on mental property. .
Despite issues about rising geopolitical tensions, Arctech believes the worldwide uptake of large-scale renewable vitality is “irreversible and inevitable” and expects the world to observe China in growing bigger photo voltaic installations, Zhou stated. .
The firm has three factories that manufacture its monitoring techniques in China and joins a rising variety of main Chinese clean-tech firms, together with electrical car maker BYD and battery producer CATL, in seek for new manufacturing bases nearer to international markets.
Arctech already has a manufacturing facility in India, a three way partnership with the Adani conglomerate, and is constructing a brand new manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. In Spain, the corporate has a analysis and improvement facility and plans to construct one other manufacturing facility in Brazil.