Regulators in China are calling on domestic manufacturers to end destructive below-cost competition but are yet to impose a formal price floor.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has stepped up scrutiny of photovoltaic pricing, calling on manufacturers to end destructive below-cost competition and shift their focus from price to product quality.
The regulator held a solar industry price-compliance meeting on July 31 in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, as part of the central government’s campaign against what it calls “involution-style” competition.
Companies were instructed to strengthen cost accounting, establish internal price-compliance systems and conduct reviews of their own pricing practices. Leading manufacturers were asked to set an example by regulating both their prices and competitive conduct.
The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) was tasked with promoting a newly released industry standard, the General Rules for the Cost Accounting Model of the Photovoltaic Industry, and guiding companies away from low-price dumping and other potential price violations.
