Chinese solar companies are seeking to expand into global markets due to a 90-day tariff reprieve between the US and China. Executives discussed these strategies during an online briefing hosted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange this week.

Li Xiande, chairman of Jinko Solar Co., said that the temporary easing of tariffs creates a more stable trade environment for the solar and energy storage sectors.

The company plans to diversify its global supply chain and increase its capacity in the Middle East through a 10-gigawatt solar cell and module project in Saudi Arabia, developed in collaboration with the country’s Public Investment Fund and Vision Industries.

In 2024, nearly 60% of Jinko’s products were exported, with notable growth in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ A decade of tariff navigation reveals Chinese solar manufacturers’ adaptability

Chinese solar companies have demonstrated remarkable adaptability to US trade barriers that began in 2012 with 36% duties on Chinese solar products 1.

Despite facing escalating tariffs that reached 25% under the Trump administration, Chinese manufacturers successfully maintained market dominance by strategically relocating production to Southeast Asia 2.

This manufacturing shift has been so effective that China’s global solar panel market share surged from just 1% in 2004 to a commanding 80% in 2023, even as direct US imports from China fell to negligible levels 2.

The current 90-day tariff truce represents just a brief respite in a long-running trade conflict where Chinese manufacturers have consistently found ways to maintain market access despite trade barriers.

Both Jinko Solar’s Middle East expansion and CSI Solar’s continued Southeast Asian operations reflect a pattern of geographic diversification to navigate an increasingly complex trade landscape.

2️⃣ Trade barriers reshape global solar supply chains but fail to diminish Chinese influence

US tariff policies have dramatically altered solar trade flows without achieving their primary goal of reducing Chinese influence in the global solar supply chain.

In 2023, US solar imports from Southeast Asia reached a record US$12 billion, with 84% of all solar cells and modules coming from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries where Chinese manufacturers established operations to avoid tariffs 2, 3.