China has summoned the country’s biggest battery, power and energy storage companies and system integrators to a closed-door meeting with four top regulators, sources told China Daily. The move signals a high-level move to curb price wars and unchecked capacity expansion in an industry that now dominates nearly 70% of the global market. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) convened the meeting together with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the National Energy Administration (NEA), to further regulate competition and restore market order in the power and energy-storage battery sector.
About 16 leading companies participated in the meeting. Almost all leading battery makers, including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL), BYD, China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology Co, Gotion High-Tech, EVE Energy, Sunwoda and SVOLT, attended. The meeting also involved several battery supply chain suppliers like Zhejiang Jiyao Tongxing Energy Technology Co and Cornex New Energy Co. Three system integrators – CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Co, HyperStrong New Energy Technology Co and Trina Solar – were also present. Regulators pledged to tighten market supervision, enhance price-related enforcement, step up inspections of production consistency and product quality, and crack down on intellectual property (IPR) violations. They also said they would guard against overcapacity. The meeting underscored official support for stronger industry self-discipline. Authorities urged industry associations to guide companies toward rational capacity planning and help foster a market environment characterized by fair competition and “quality over price”. Coordination between central and local governments will also be bolstered to curb redundant projects, officials said.
The meeting also said that China’s battery, power and energy-storage industry has expanded rapidly, securing a “phased competitive advantage” on the global stage, but warned that blind capacity expansion, low-price competition and other irrational practices were disrupting market order and weakening the sector’s sustainability. According to South Korean market consultancy SNE Research, six Chinese companies ranked among the world’s top 10 by installed power battery capacity from January to November last year. Together, they accounted for 69.4% of global market share, up more than three percentage points year-on-year, the China Daily reports.
