Why has the photovoltaic industry become the "new business card" of China's foreign trade?

Sorting out the bright performance of China's photovoltaic exports in 2022, from the perspective of product exports, there is a trend of both volume and price. Among them, the export volume of PV modules reached 42.361 billion US dollars, with an export volume of about 153.6GW, up 55.8% year on year, both reaching a record high; The export volume of silicon wafers was about 36.3GW, with a year-on-year increase of 60.8%; The export volume of battery cells was about 23.8GW, with a year-on-year increase of 130.7%. From a regional perspective, the export of photovoltaic products to the markets of all continents will increase to different degrees in 2022, with the largest growth rate in Europe, with a year-on-year increase of 114.9%, accounting for about 46% of the total exports, and the proportion continues to increase. It is the most important export market in China.

At the same time as the overall increase of PV exports, the export performance of leading enterprises is even more commendable. A person related to Jingke Energy told the International Business News: "The main export product of Jingke Energy is photovoltaic modules, which has ranked first in the global module shipments for many years. In the whole year of 2022, the company's photovoltaic module shipments exceeded 44GW."

This cannot be separated from the efforts of Chinese photovoltaic enterprises to accelerate the pace of "going to sea" and expand their overseas layout in recent years. It is understood that Jingke Energy currently has 14 production bases (3 overseas) and 35 overseas branches in the world, and its products are sold to more than 160 countries. Another leading Chinese photovoltaic enterprise, Trina Solar, has set up regional headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, San Jose, Miami, Tokyo, Singapore and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and production and manufacturing bases in Thailand and Vietnam. Its business covers more than 100 countries and regions around the world. Longji Green Energy has not only set up many production and manufacturing bases in Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries and regions, but also set up branches in the United States, Japan, Germany and other countries, with businesses covering more than 150 countries and regions around the world.

"The high growth rate of China's PV exports last year reflects two major trends: first, the demand for clean energy products in the international market has increased significantly, and second, the scale of China's PV industry, product quality and the brand influence of 'going global' have been expanding." said Zhang Sen, Secretary-General of the PV Branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electrical Products.