In response to the EU’s “anti-dumping” lawsuit against Chinese photovoltaic companies, the Ministry of Commerce has urgently summoned the four major Chinese photovoltaic companies, including Yingli, Suntech, Trina and Canadian Solar, to Beijing to discuss countermeasures. The four giants submitted an “Emergency Report on the EU’s Anti-dumping Investigation of China’s Photovoltaic Products, which will severely damage my country’s industry.” The “Report” called on the Chinese government, industry, and enterprises to “three-in-one” as the EU’s anti-dumping investigation enters a 45-day countdown. Respond proactively and formulate countermeasures.
“This is a more severe challenge facing China’s new energy industry after the United States launched a ‘double-reverse’ investigation of Chinese wind power products and photovoltaic companies.” Shi Lishan, deputy director of the New Energy and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration In an interview with a reporter, he said that new energy is considered to be the core of the third global industrial revolution, and China’s new energy industry, represented by photovoltaics and wind power, has developed rapidly in recent years and has taken the lead in the international market. European and American countries have successively launched “double countermeasures” against China’s new energy. On the surface, it is an international trade dispute, but from a deeper analysis, it is a war to compete for opportunities in the third global industrial revolution.
The United States and Europe have successively launched “double-reverse” actions against China, putting the photovoltaic industry’s survival at risk
On July 24, German company Solarw orld and other companies submitted a complaint to the European Commission, requesting an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese photovoltaic products. According to the procedure, the EU will make a decision on whether to file the case within 45 days (early September).
This is another attack on China’s new energy products by the international community after the United States. Previously, the U.S. Department of Commerce made successive anti-dumping and anti-dumping rulings on China’s photovoltaic and wind power products exported to the United States. Among them, punitive anti-dumping duties of 31.14%-249.96% are levied on Chinese photovoltaic products; temporary anti-dumping duties of 20.85%-72.69% and 13.74%-26% are levied on Chinese application-grade wind power towers. For temporary countervailing duties, the comprehensive tax rate for double countervailing duties and countervailing duties reaches a maximum of 98.69%.
“Compared with the U.S. anti-dumping case, the EU’s anti-dumping case has a broader scope, involves a larger amount, and poses more severe challenges to China’s photovoltaic industry.” Liang Tian, public relations director of Yingli Group, told reporters that the EU’s anti-dumping case The case covers all solar products from China. Calculated based on the system cost of 15 yuan per watt of output last year, the total volume reached nearly one trillion yuan, and the scope of influence has significantly expanded.
On the other hand, the EU is the largest overseas market for Chinese photovoltaic products. In 2011, the total value of China’s overseas photovoltaic products was approximately US$35.8 billion, with the EU accounting for more than 60%. In other words, the EU’s anti-dumping case will involve an export value of more than 20 billion US dollars, which is close to the total value of China’s imports of complete vehicles from the EU in 2011. It will have a huge potential impact on China-EU trade, politics and economy.
Liang Tian believes that once the EU’s anti-dumping case is established, it will cause a devastating blow to Chinese photovoltaic companies. First of all, the EU is likely to impose high tariffs on Chinese photovoltaic products, causing my country’s photovoltaic companies to lose their competitive advantage and be forced to withdraw from major markets; secondly, the operating difficulties faced by key photovoltaic companies will lead to the bankruptcy of affiliated companies, damaged bank credit, and unemployment of workers. and a series of serious social and economic problems; thirdly, as my country’s strategic emerging industry, photovoltaic companies have been curbed by trade protectionism, which will cause my country’s strategy of transforming economic development methods and cultivating new economic growth points to lose important support; and Fourth, the EU’s move will force my country’s photovoltaic companies to set up factories overseas, causing China’s real economy to move abroad.
“This will be the trade protection case with the largest case value, the widest range of risks, and the greatest economic damage in history in the world. Not only does it mean that Chinese photovoltaic companies will suffer disaster, but it will also directly lead to a loss of output value of more than 350 billion yuan, and more than 200 billion yuan. The risk of bad loans in RMB has caused more than 300,000 to 500,000 people to lose their jobs at the same time.” Liang Tian said.
There is no winner in the international trade war. The photovoltaic dispute is not just China.
In response to the EU’s “anti-dumping” lawsuit against China’s photovoltaic industry, China’s four major photovoltaic giants, led by Yingli, suggested in an “urgent report” submitted to the Ministry of Commerce that my country should adopt a “trinity” coordination and linkage of government, industry and enterprises to formulate countermeasures. measure. The “Emergency Report” calls on China’s Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and even higher-level national leaders to quickly launch consultations and negotiations with the EU and relevant countries, urging the EU to abandon the investigation.
There are no winners in international trade wars. Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang recently responded to the EU’s photovoltaic anti-dumping, saying: “If the EU imposes restrictions on China’s photovoltaic products, we believe it will be detrimental to the overall development of the EU’s photovoltaic industry upstream and downstream, and will be detrimental to the advancement of the EU’s low-carbon strategy. , and it is also not conducive to the cooperation between the solar cell companies of both parties, and it may just shoot itself in the foot.”
It is understood that photovoltaic and other new energy industries have already formed a highly globalized industrial chain and value chain, and all countries in the world, including European and American countries, belong to a community of interests with complementary advantages.
Taking photovoltaics as an example, the EU has advantages in technology research and development, raw materials and equipment manufacturing; while China has advantages in scale and manufacturing, and most of its production is concentrated on the component side. China’s photovoltaic industry has promoted the development of related industries in the EU and the world, especially the production and export of EU-related raw materials and equipment to China. Public data shows that in 2011, China imported US$764 million of polysilicon from Germany, accounting for 20% of China’s imports of similar products, imported US$360 million of silver paste, and purchased approximately 18 billion yuan of production equipment from Germany, Switzerland and other European countries. , promoted the development of Europe’s upstream and downstream industries, and created more than 300,000 jobs for the EU.
Once China’s photovoltaics are hit hard, the European market in the industrial chain will not be spared. In response to this kind of anti-dumping lawsuit that “injures one hundred people and damages oneself eighty”, many European photovoltaic companies have a very clear opposition position. Following the Munich WACKER company, the German company Heraeus also recently expressed its opposition to the EU launching a “double counterfeit” investigation against China. Frank Heinricht, chairman of the company, pointed out that imposing punitive tariffs will only trigger China to respond with the same measures, which he believes is a “blatant violation of the principle of free competition.”
Obviously, the trade war in the photovoltaic industry will eventually lead to “loser-lose”, which is a result that no party is willing to see.
China must take multiple countermeasures to seize the initiative in the new energy industry
“China is not only the world’s largest trade exporter, but also the world’s second largest trade importer. In response to international trade disputes provoked by some countries, China has the conditions to take corresponding measures and actively respond.” Liang Tian told reporters that if this time The EU has successfully filed an anti-dumping case against China’s photovoltaics. China should carry out “reciprocal countermeasures”. For example, it can select products from the EU’s export trade to China that are large enough, involve enough stakeholders, or are equally high-tech and sophisticated, and carry out corresponding countermeasures. “Double-reverse” investigation and ruling.
Liang Tian believes that China’s response to the 2009 Sino-US tire protection case provides a successful example for new energy sources such as photovoltaics. That year, U.S. President Obama announced a three-year punitive tariff on car and light truck tires imported from China. China’s Ministry of Commerce decided to initiate a “double-reverse” review of some imported automobile products and broiler products from the United States. When its own interests were harmed, the United States chose to compromise.
Shi Lishan, deputy director of the New and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, believes that from the previous “double-reverse” investigations launched by the United States against Chinese wind power products and photovoltaic companies to the EU’s “double-reverse” lawsuit against Chinese photovoltaic companies, This is not only a war launched by the European Union against my country’s new energy as a strategic emerging industry, but also a dispute among countries over new energy in the third industrial revolution.
As we all know, the first two industrial revolutions in human history relied on the development of fossil energy. However, non-renewable fossil energy has caused increasingly severe energy crises and environmental crises. In the third industrial revolution, clean and renewable new energy has created new economic growth points and played an irreplaceable role in the adjustment of energy structure. At present, most countries in the world regard the development of new energy as an important strategic industry to stimulate economic growth. They have innovated technologies, introduced policies, and invested funds, striving to seize the opportunities of the third industrial revolution.
It is understood that China’s wind power development has surpassed the United States and ranks first in the world, and its wind power manufacturing industry is the world’s largest country; China’s photovoltaic industry currently accounts for more than 50% of the world’s production capacity, and has achieved nationalization of 70% of its equipment. As the culmination of new energy advantages, wind power and photovoltaic power generation have been positioned as China’s strategic emerging industries. They are one of the few industries in my country that can simultaneously participate in international competition and be at the leading level. Some insiders pointed out that Europe and the United States are suppressing China’s photovoltaic and wind power industries, in a sense, to curb the development of China’s strategic emerging industries and ensure Europe and the United States’ leading position in future strategic industries.
Faced with constraints from international markets such as Europe and the United States, how can China’s new energy industries such as photovoltaics and wind power get out of the predicament? Shi Lishan believes that first of all, we must take corresponding measures to actively respond to the challenge and strive for the initiative in the international trade war; secondly, we must focus on cultivating In the domestic market, we must build a photovoltaic and wind power manufacturing industry and service system that is based on the domestic market and is oriented to the world; third, we must accelerate the reform of the domestic power system, cultivate a distributed power market, and ultimately form a new sustainable development model that is based on the domestic market and serves the global market. Energy industry system.
Post time: Jan-18-2024