by Laura Varley
19 Oct 2026
Image: © lovelyday12/Stock.adobe.com
In a statement, China’s Ministry of Commerce said that greater oversight is needed for technologies with the potential to impact sensitive sectors.
According to Reuters, China’s Ministry of Commerce has proposed applying export controls to 12 different technologies used to manufacture solar equipment, and also suggested conducting a broader review of both biotechnology and AI tech. 
The ministry raised concerns about photovoltaic technology – tech that can create power from light – due to it being used in highly sensitive areas, such as the aerospace industry and for national defence. 
According to the ministry, export restrictions would guard against out-of-control or improper use of technology, while also protecting standard international exchanges and cooperation methods. 
Tech impacted under the new proposal could include that used to ⁠make perovskite and tandem solar cells, as well as large-scale fluidised-bed polysilicon production technologies, according to Reuters. 
Perovskite is a newer technology that offers increased conversion efficiency, and tandem cells combining perovskite and silicon layers can reportedly capture more sunlight. 
China would also seek to restrict the exportation of advanced solar cell manufacturing technologies, ​including TOPCon, HJT and XBC.
This is occurring in a landscape where many countries are aiming to build upon their energy and tech sovereignty. There is a block on the export of solar-manufacturing technology from China to India, as a means of maintaining dominance at a time when India is looking to diminish its own manufacturing reliance on China.   
In March of this year, German battery and raw materials recycling start-up Tozero opened a new industrial plant for the production of domestic lithium and graphite, as a means of reducing Europe’s dependence on China for materials. 
The facility in Munich is capable of processing 1,500 tonnes of waste per year by turning end-of-life lithium ion batteries into domestic supplies of lithium, graphite and nickel-cobalt blends for use in electric vehicles, grid-scale storage and industrial electrification.
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Related: China, government & policy, energy, manufacturing, solar
Laura Varley is the Careers editor for Silicon Republic
editorial@siliconrepublic.com
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