China Tightens Grip on Solar Exports as Shipments Continue to Slide

Customs data reveals that China shipped 1.21 million metric tons of solar hardware last month. While this represents a marginal recovery from August volumes, the broader downward trend remains firmly entrenched. The erosion of export competitiveness traces back to April, when authorities eliminated value-added tax rebates for photovoltaic products. This fiscal policy shift has effectively raised international price points, cooling demand for Chinese-made components.

Beyond tax adjustments, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology are currently weighing a significant expansion of export controls. The proposed catalog targets nearly 40 technologies across artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and the solar sector. Specifically, the state aims to gatekeep manufacturing processes for high-efficiency products, including perovskite, tandem solar cells, and advanced wafer production. A month-long public consultation period is currently underway to finalize these restrictions, signaling a strategic pivot toward protecting core technological dominance over pure export volume.