Looking overseas: China’s solar ascent in a fragmented global landscape

Amid escalating trade barriers and geopolitical realignments, China’s solar sector is strategically reconfiguring its global footprint. This report examines critical adaptation strategies across two dimensions, covering diversification of manufacturing hubs and export corridors. Chinese manufacturers are recalibrating supply chains through relocation and cost optimisation to bypass tariffs and localisation policies. Regionally, tailored approaches address divergent markets, including US, EU region and Middle East. Simultaneously, overseas solar asset investment priorities are shifting toward regions with low political risks, like Belt and Road nations. Collectively, Chinese players are devoted to sustaining dominance in the solar industry despite market fragmentation, transforming global headwinds into pathway for expansion.