China proposes export controls on 12 solar manufacturing technologies

what happened

China's Commerce Ministry and Ministry of Science and Technology have proposed adding 12 photovoltaic technologies to the country's export-control list, Stocktwits reports, citing Reuters. The list covers technologies for polysilicon, silicon wafers and advanced solar-cell manufacturing. Exports of perovskite and tandem cell technologies, along with certain thin-silicon wafer and fluidized-bed polysilicon technologies, would be banned outright. TOPCon, HJT and back-contact technologies would face restrictions rather than a full ban.

The ministry linked the measures to national security, pointing to the use of photovoltaics in aerospace, defense and high-security infrastructure. It stressed that the controls are narrow: technologies below the specified thresholds stay freely exportable, and products made with controlled technologies are not themselves covered by the rules.

why it matters

According to Reuters, Tesla held talks in March with Chinese firms to buy about $2.9 billion of solar manufacturing equipment. Canadian Solar recently opened the first phase of its HJT cell factory in Indiana, with 2.1 GW of capacity, and that technology is named in the proposal. The ministry says restrictions depend on technical thresholds, so the plant is not automatically blocked. Stocktwits data shows TSLA down 21% and CSIQ down 59% year to date.

market impact

Solar sector: export limits on manufacturing technology could complicate equipment supply for panel makers, mainly in the US.

tags

instruments