Chinese enterprises enjoy very obvious advantages in the area of solar battery
and module manufacturing; China’s share of the global solar photovoltaic market is
about 35 %, while China’s share in the area of the solar battery has exceeded 50 %.
Almost all of the global growth in the solar battery industry comes from China.
Chinese photovoltaic cell panels have competitive strength in prices and technol-
ogy, and they enjoy great popularity due to their high quality and low price; their
share of the European solar market reaches about 80 %.^5 However, this also caused
Chinese photovoltaic enterprises a lot of trouble. After the US Ministry of
Commerce decided to impose penalty duties on Chinese photovoltaic enterprises,
the EU also launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against Chinese
enterprises. Essentially, this trade protectionism caused damage to both sides. In
fact, Chinese photovoltaic cell panels with a huge market share boosted China’s
import of polycrystalline silicon material, while the USA and Germany are the
largest sources of imports for China. Most of the manufacturing equipment nec-
essary for China to make solar photovoltaic products are imported from US and
European companies. In early 2013, 184 European photovoltaic enterprises jointly
held a press conference to oppose the EU’s imposition of penalty duties on Chinese
photovoltaic products.^6 In September, China and the EU ultimately reached an
agreement on the photovoltaic trade dispute, under which the lowest prices were set
for Chinese solar panels on the European market. Currently, sales of Chinese solar
photovoltaic products are gradually shifting focus from import to both domestic and
international markets. Chinese enterprises have also begun to enter the area of solar
photovoltaic equipment manufacturing. China plans to complete an installed
capacity of solar power generation of more than 21 million KW and solar heat
collection reaching 0.4 billion m^2 by 2015. A huge planning market brings enor-
mous business opportunities to global equipment manufacturers and materials
suppliers.
The advantages enjoyed by European enterprises are mainly in thefield of
renewable energy, especially that of wind power. Although the whole clean energy
industry has been adversely affected by the European debt crisis, the EU still comes
out in front in the area of wind power. For example, Siemens’offshore wind turbine
generators enjoy 80 % of the global market. Although currently homemade wind
turbine generators being 1.5 MW and below have been put into operation and the
localization rate has reached 86 %, critical components for wind turbine generators,
such as bearings and converters, are still imported. Some European enterprises have
entered the Chinese high-end wind energy equipment market and have made great
(Footnote 4 continued)
the renewable energy and energy-saving technology products, but excludes hydroelectric
technology products mainly due to the many side effects of hydroelectric generation on ecological
and social aspects.
(^5) Global Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing Development Report, Issue 3,http://www.
rolandberger.com.cn/news/local/2012-06-08-clean_economy.html.
(^6) European Enterprises Opposed Suppression of Chinese Photovoltaic Products,http://world.
people.com.cn/n/2013/0221/c57507-20553134.html, accessed on March 8, 2013.
170 F. Cong