US, S.Korea new ‘overcapacity’ hype about China's solar panels aims to curb China’s tech devt, industrial upgrading

Chinese experts said on Monday that reported cooperation between South Korea and the US to address so-called "excess capacity" in China's photovoltaic (PV) industry is part of the strategic narrative for Western countries to hype "overcapacity" in China's new-energy vehicles, lithium battery and PV sector, which is aimed at curbing China's technological development and industrial upgrading. 

Observers said that the so-called spillover effect of China's "excessive production" is an excuse fabricated by some US politicians out of political motives, amid the US crackdown on Chinese PV companies.

The response came after a South Korean report, which said that senior diplomats from South Korea and the US are cooperating to address the issue of "excess capacity" in China's PV industry, in order to protect industries of both countries from the negative impact brought by overproduction of Chinese solar energy products.

The rapid growth of China's PV-related exports has made many countries more and more anxious. Officials from South Korea and the US on April 30 discussed the need for a joint response to potential ramifications from the so-called "overcapacity" in China's solar industry during talks on energy security in Houston, Texas, South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Hee-sang was quoted as saying this in a report from the Yonhap News Agency.

The discussions revolved around a two-fold approach involving each country's import control measures against China's provision of excessive subsidies, and cooperation in developing more technologically competitive products, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

The move shows that the US and South Korea are hyping "overcapacity" rhetoric targeting China's solar industry in a bid to replace China's industry with their own producers, Han Bing, an expert at the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

Han said that the US and South Korea believe that they will create difficulties for China's PV firms to expand abroad by imposing trade barriers.

Experts called for the South Korean side to not follow the US in adopting strict economic and trade restrictions against China, saying that such an approach will only backfire on the country itself, with local businesses and ordinary people paying the price.

It's undeniable that China's capacity and technological breakthroughs in the clean energy sector have become powerful engines driving the global energy transition, experts said. 

According to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, average kilowatt-hour cost of global wind power and photovoltaic power generation have decreased by more than 60 percent and 80 percent respectively in the past decade, a large part of which is attributed to China's innovation, manufacturing and engineering. 

China's PV production capacity represents nearly 90 percent of the world's total, industry data show. 

Experts praised the efforts made by Chinese companies in increasing research and development efforts to develop new PV cell techniques that could improve efficiency and reduce costs.

China is the world's renewables powerhouse. The country accounts for almost 60 percent of the new renewable capacity expected to become operational globally by 2028. China's role is critical in reaching the global goal of tripling renewables because the country is expected to install more than half of the new capacity required globally by 2030, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

Chinese PV products have strong competitiveness, thanks to the accumulation of technology and production capacity. Exports have contributed to cost declines and helped solar PV to become the most affordable electricity generation technology, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday.