Tongwei, Longi and CATL urge a “management upgrade” at Two Sessions: “It’s time for China’s new energy”

Industry leaders demand a management upgrade

Three of China’s biggest new‑energy firms — Tongwei (通威), Longi Green Energy (隆基) and CATL (宁德时代) — have jointly sounded the alarm at the 2026 Two Sessions, calling for a systemic overhaul of how renewables are managed and priced. The timing is stark: 2025 saw 452 GW of new renewable capacity added in China, a year‑on‑year rise of 20.7%, and for the first time wind and solar installations together exceeded thermal generation. China now accounts for more than 80% of global photovoltaic module capacity. But industry chiefs reportedly warn that capacity leadership has outpaced the institutional machinery needed to stabilise markets.

Why the anxiety? It has been reported that polysilicon prices plunged by roughly 70% from peak levels in 2024 and module prices collapsed below cost, leaving more than 60% of the sector loss‑making at one point. Without strategic reserves, long‑term contracts or a price‑stabilisation tool, companies say the sector is trapped in cycles of “capacity glut → price war → consolidation,” with firms bearing the brunt. Coal, oil and gas have national mechanisms — long‑term contract pricing, strategic reserves, supply‑security frameworks — while solar remains treated as ordinary manufacturing in China’s current pricing logic.

Policy pivot: from build‑out to institutional foundations

Executives have not been vague about remedies. Calls include creating strategic reserve mechanisms for key solar inputs, industry‑level price‑formation tools and a capacity‑style tariff or “容量电价” for storage to underpin long‑duration assets. CATL (宁德时代) has reportedly leaned into R&D and storage — with heavy investment in AI+storage — arguing storage needs independent commercial models and capacity remuneration rather than ad‑hoc subsidies. The message from the private sector is clear: move from subsidy‑driven scale competition to institution‑driven quality competition.

Beijing appears to be listening. The government work report for 2026 shifts language from “accelerate installation” to “promote high‑quality development” and explicitly calls to “完善价格形成机制和储备调节制度” — improve price formation mechanisms and reserve adjustment systems. That is a policy pivot with global implications: China’s manufacturing dominance shapes global solar prices, and any domestic move toward stabilisation will ripple through supply chains already under trade scrutiny. Can Beijing now translate capacity into a stable, investable energy system? For industry leaders and foreign buyers alike, the next act will test whether China can pair scale with the institutions that make modern energy markets resilient.