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“From Consumer to Competitor: How China Views Bharat’s Photovoltaic Rise”, ORF, Jun 01, 2026.
“In the past few days, the Chinese internet has been abuzz with news of India ‘stealing’ businesses from China, this time in the photovoltaic (PV) space. India’s photovoltaic module production capacity has “skyrocketed” from less than 10 GW in 2018 to 172 GW in 2026 (almost on par with global annual installation capacity), registering a 17-fold increase over eight years. Meanwhile, in China, leading photovoltaic companies have been reporting record-breaking losses totalling tens of billions of yuan since the fourth quarter of 2023, falling into the deepest quagmire of losses in history.
In 2025, 11 of the 15 listed Chinese PV companies reported losses totalling around 50 billion yuan. The five leading companies—TCL Zhonghuan, Jinko Solar, Longi Green Energy, JA Solar, and Trina Solar—reported losses exceeding 28 billion yuan. At this time, news of India’s transformation from a net importer in the 2000s to the “world’s second-largest manufacturer of photovoltaic modules and mobile phones” attracted significant public attention in China, and the contrasting saga (Indian boom, Chinese bust) became a trending topic on Chinese social media. In Chinese public opinion, this dramatic shift in fortunes was directly linked to alleged technology transfer from China, and Chinese companies were criticised bitterly for “aiding the enemy”.
India’s photovoltaic module production capacity has “skyrocketed” from less than 10 GW in 2018 to 172 GW in 2026 (almost on par with global annual installation capacity), registering a 17-fold increase over eight years.
Chinese photovoltaic industry insiders fondly remember those days when the relationship between Chinese and Indian photovoltaic companies was relatively simple: China produced, and India consumed. From 2000 to 2015, China’s cumulative investment in India was only US$ 1.24 billion, accounting for less than 0.5 percent of total global investment in India. For China, India was merely a downstream buyer of Chinese products. However, according to Chinese assessments, things began to change in recent years when India launched its ‘Make in India’ initiative along with supporting measures: i) the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which encouraged companies to set up factories in India; ii) the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) system, which imposed tariffs on imported components, thereby pushing companies to produce locally; and iii) the requirement of Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) certification for participation in government projects……………….”
Read the full article at ORF.
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