ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - China has cemented its control over the global solar energy industry, producing 85 percent of all critical components and driving a 24 percent annual surge in exports, an executive at one of the world's largest manufacturers of solar equipment told Rudaw on Tuesday.
The nation's installed solar "generation capacity now exceeds 700 gigawatt - more than the rest of the world combined," while currently supplying "10% of China's domestic electricity," said Susan Shi, marketing director at LONGi, in a Tuesday interview with Rudaw's Mahdi Faraj.
Beyond its dominance in basic components, Shi said, China also controls "80 percent of the world's finished solar panels" and "a staggering 95 percent of silicon wafers."
Meanwhile, "the focus has shifted from sheer volume to quality and market stability," the LONGi directors explained, addressing the industry's evolving trajectory. "Low-quality producers are being squeezed out, while stronger firms thrive."
This transition coincides with major policy shifts from Beijing, which "has removed the 9 percent VAT rebate that once incentivized exports" and enacted strict technological trade barriers.
Furthermore, "factories and manufacturing technology are barred from moving abroad, ensuring the nation remains the sole source of solar production," Shi said.
Facing trade friction and "tariffs from the US and Europe," manufacturers are increasingly "pivoting toward Global South nations and Belt and Road Initiative partners - with Iraq emerging as a key market."
In effect, "China is no longer just the world's solar factory," Shi noted, consolidating its position as a self-contained production hub.
