Solar Panel Production: The New Front in the Global Trade War With Beijing

The push to find alternatives to China-based sources of silicon has gathered force in recent months both in America and in the European Union (EU). Widespread concern about the humanitarian and geopolitical implications of doing business with Chinese state-controlled exporters has fueled a backlash and a campaign to re-shore solar panel production.

Energy importers in Western nations understandably would rather rely on supply chains independent of China, with the regime in Beijing formally found guilty of genocide against the Uyghur minority of Xinjiang province, exposed for harvesting organs from Falun Gong practitioners, and with concerns about the suppression of free speech, economic coercion, mismanagement of the economy, aggression in the South China Sea, and a possible invasion of Taiwan.

The EU is desperate for ways to curb its heavy dependence on Chinese silicon imports for use in the construction of solar panels that figure prominently in its vision of a green energy future. However, Western nations still face a severe disadvantage when it comes to competing with China—namely, the cost of energy.


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