hina\u2019s leading renewables firms are joining the rush to open factories in the US after Washington passed a landmark climate bill that supports local clean energy manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Some of the nation\u2019s top solar panel makers are involved in setting up American plants, while the Chinese company that makes the world\u2019s largest wind turbine, Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Ltd., is exploring whether to establish production and research facilities there.<\/p>\n
The building boom underscores how the US has rebuilt its credentials as a cleantech manufacturing hub after last year\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act. The bill, a signature achievement for the Biden administration,\u00a0includes $374 billion<\/a>\u00a0in new climate-related spending. That\u2019s drawn the attention of China\u2019s world-leading renewables industry despite deepening tensions between the two governments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US is working on low-carbon, green development, has plans, and has introduced many good policies and mechanisms \u2014 it is very attractive,\u201d Ming Yang Chairman Zhang Chuanwei said in an interview last week at the Boao Forum for Asia on the island of Hainan, an event dubbed as China\u2019s version of Davos.<\/p>\n The company hasn\u2019t announced any US plans yet, but three of its clean energy peers are in the process of building their presence there: JA Solar Technology Co.\u00a0in Arizona<\/a>, Longi Green Energy Technology Co.\u00a0in Ohio<\/a>, and Jinko Solar Co.\u00a0in Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chinese solar firms dominate global panel production, but have been stymied from shipping to the US because of a series of trade disputes and allegations of human rights abuses, which China has denied. Some of the firms have moved to expand exports from plants in southeast Asia to navigate curbs on US trade.<\/p>\n Biden\u2019s climate policy is designed to boost domestic cleantech industries and reduce America\u2019s reliance on imports. The bill extends to encouraging foreign firms to set up shop in the US, sparking a wave of new factory announcements since it was passed in August. But Chinese companies have been reticent about publicizing their investments.<\/p>\n That\u2019s due to Washington\u2019s increasingly adversarial approach to Chinese firms, according to Li Junfeng, managing director of the China Energy Research Society, a government-affiliated think tank. He cited the scrutiny faced by battery maker\u00a0Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.<\/a>\u00a0over its recent tie-up with Ford Motor Co., as well as the furor linked to national security concerns that has erupted over social-media platform TikTok.<\/p>\n That\u2019s left Chinese companies fearing they won\u2019t get the same treatment as their South Korean or European counterparts, Li said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt isn\u2019t enough for the US to just introduce the IRA bill. It needs to give a clear expectation that companies will be treated equally,\u201d he said. \u201cIf one day it says that solar panels are also national security issues, we won\u2019t be able to talk reasonably anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Cleantech is assuming a strategic importance as it becomes the world\u2019s biggest source of new energy. China\u2019s advantage means that governments elsewhere are trying to chip away at its dominance by carving out their own supply chains. But Beijing is fighting its corner, albeit in ways that could undercut the industry\u2019s pleas for fair treatment from US authorities.<\/p>\n The Chinese government has launched its own probe of the\u00a0CATL-Ford deal<\/a>, to ensure the battery giant\u2019s core technology isn\u2019t handed over to the US carmaker. It\u2019s also considering an\u00a0export ban<\/a>\u00a0that would help maintain its substantial lead in solar manufacturing.<\/p>\n Li said the proposed solar ban is only a draft, and has met objections from some companies. China has spent over 20 years building the world\u2019s best solar industry, but it needs to balance local manufacturing capabilities with maintaining a robust global supply chain, he said.<\/p>\n