This is due partly to China consolidating its dominance in sectors where it has historically had a competitive advantage (textiles, steel, smartphones), but also to accelerating growth in exports of green tech such as electric vehicles, solar panels and lithium ion batteries – the ‘new three’ products which Beijing believes will play a vital role in the global ecological transition (see China’s great green leap forward, in this issue). Yet six of China’s biggest solar panel and cell makers – Jinko Solar, Longi, JA Solar, Trina Solar, Tongwei and TCL Technology – are in the red after making a collective loss of $2.8bn in the first half of this year (Financial Times, 4 September 2025). Ten years ago Robert Boyer, a leading exponent of the regulation school of economics, was already describing the Chinese economy as being in ‘a permanent state of overinvestment’ with ‘cut-throat competition, declining (…)
Author: Nathan Sperber
Published at: 2025-12-01 21:41:26
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