China Makes a Move to end Price Wars by Bolstering its Solar IP

Introduction

China produces more than 80% of the world’s solar panels, a feat that has dramatically lowered costs and accelerated the global shift to renewable energy. However, this dominance has come at a price: intense price competition and overproduction have eroded profits and discouraged investment in new technologies. The National Intellectual Property Administration collaborated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to introduce an 11-point policy framework. The initiative focuses on strengthening intellectual property protections to foster a more orderly market and promote long-term development in the photovoltaic sector.

The Context of Market Challenges

The policy addresses a specific problem known as “involution competition,” where companies engage in relentless price undercutting and capacity expansion, leading to diminished returns. This pattern became particularly acute after rapid growth in polysilicon and wafer production flooded the market. It echoes earlier ministry statements from July 2025, which warned against disorderly expansion, and November 2025 guidance for the battery storage sector. Leading firms like LONGi and JinkoSolar have already reached private agreements to resolve disputes over TOPCon technology, but widespread imitation continues to undermine profitability. By prioritising IP, the government aims to encourage innovation over mere production volume, ensuring that companies compete on technological merit rather than cost alone.

Strategic Patent Development in Core Technologies

The framework begins with a call for high-quality patent filings targeted at key areas. Companies are urged to advance established high-efficiency technologies such as TOPCon, back-contact, and heterojunction cells, which have achieved efficiencies exceeding 23%. At the same time, it emphasises building foundational patents in emerging fields like perovskites and tandem cells, which show promise for efficiencies above 30% in laboratory settings. Protection extends beyond cells to include inverters, encapsulants, and manufacturing equipment, covering the entire supply chain. Accelerated pre-examination processes reduce approval times from years to months, allowing innovators to secure rights quickly in a fast-moving field. This targeted approach recognises that solar technology evolves rapidly, and timely patents create barriers that protect investments in research and development.

Risk monitoring receives equal attention, with a comprehensive system designed to oversee the supply chain from raw materials to finished products. It identifies litigation trends and flags suspicious patent transfers to foreign entities, providing companies with compliance tools and early warnings. Administrative adjudication is prioritised to resolve disputes faster than traditional courts, often in weeks rather than years. Collaborative efforts ensure IP screening in procurement processes, preventing infringing components from entering the chain. Such measures address solar’s interconnected nature, where a single weak link, like a faulty wafer, can compromise entire production runs amid annual capacities surpassing 500 gigawatts.

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Efficient Dispute Resolution and International Safeguards

The policy promotes alternative dispute mechanisms, including mediation, arbitration, and expert panels suited to technical complexities. These options maintain business relationships in a sector where supply chains are highly interdependent. For international exposure, it offers support for risks at trade shows, patent oppositions in markets like Europe and the US, and investment-related challenges. Recent settlements between LONGi and JinkoSolar illustrate the need: Chinese exports face increasing scrutiny, and robust defences are essential to protect market access. By equipping firms with these resources, the framework turns potential vulnerabilities into managed risks.

Leveraging IP for Commercial Success

Patents must generate value, so the plan emphasises licensing, technology transfer, and IP-

backed financing. Training programs build enterprise capabilities in portfolio management, valuation, and negotiation, helping smaller firms compete with industry leaders. Trademark and brand protection prevents reputation damage from low-quality imitations. High-efficiency HJT modules, for instance, command 20% premiums when backed by strong marks, and scaling this practice across the sector amplifies economic returns. This commercial focus acknowledges that IP’s true worth lies in revenue generation rather than mere registration.

Establishing Coordinated Governance Structures

Effective implementation requires a dedicated coordination system connecting central authorities, provincial regulators, and industry stakeholders. Regular consultations test central-local collaboration models and regional initiatives. Expert think tanks, drawing from IP specialists, industry practitioners, economists, and service providers, deliver practical guidance. By 2027, the policy envisions a landscape of high-value patents and resilient companies, measured by the deployment of competitive rights and improved dispute outcomes. This structured oversight ensures consistent application across China’s vast manufacturing base.

In-Depth Analysis: The Rationale and Expected Outcomes

The policy’s design reveals a nuanced understanding of the solar industry’s dynamics, balancing immediate competitive pressures with long-term technological leadership. The emphasis on specific technologies like TOPCon and perovskites targets inflection points where incremental gains yield market dominance; TOPCon’s current 25% efficiencies provide near-term revenue, while tandem cells promise disruptive cost reductions, making early patent clusters invaluable for licensing and standards influence. Accelerated examinations leverage China’s administrative efficiency, a comparative advantage that shortens cycles rivals cannot replicate, effectively creating time-based moats in a sector where six-month delays cede market share.

Supply chain monitoring resolves structural fragmentation, where upstream flaws cascade downstream; procurement IP gates enforce quality amid 500 gigawatt overcapacity, stabilising prices and margins that fell 15% in 2025. Alternative resolutions suit relational ecosystems, with 90% production concentrated in Jiangsu-Zhejiang, preserving ties that litigation would sever. International support counters asymmetric risks - exports comprise 70% of output amid US ITC cases - equipping firms with opposition strategies that have reduced adverse rulings by half since 2023.

Commercialisation draws from proven models like Huawei’s 20-billion-dollar IP revenues, adaptable to solar cross-licensing that resolved TOPCon impasses. Capacity building mirrors EV successes, where similar initiatives boosted mid-tier patent filings 30%, levelling the field for SMEs comprising 60% of manufacturers. The coordination network harnesses federalism, blending central strategy with provincial execution as in Anhui’s Trina cluster, ensuring scalability.

This addresses involution fundamentally: PERC commoditisation sparked price spirals; IP moats enable HJT premiums of 20%, moderating capacity as protected niches prove more lucrative, recapturing 15% margins post-2025 curtailments. It reframes global perceptions, with domestic rigor bolstering WTO positions against EU tariffs. Potential pitfalls - institutional strain from patent surges, SME adoption lags, find countermeasures in think tanks and phased targets. Unlike subsidies prone to waste, IP generates compounding returns: portfolios license iteratively, attract FDI, and shape IEC standards for perovskites. By 2027, China transitions from volume leader to standards setter, exemplified by tandem pilots scaling under shielded IP.

Worldwide Implications and Implementation Outlook

The framework reshapes trade flows. US narratives of imitation weaken against fortified portfolios; European subsidy probes encounter substantive IP barriers in HJT. Emerging markets benefit from reliable, rights-backed supply. Implementation demands vigilance - examiner training, SME subsidies, but precedents in EVs suggest success. China’s solar IP evolution affirms a principle: scale establishes markets, protection sustains them.

Author: - Amrita Pradhan, in case of any queries please contact/write back to us via email to chhavi@khuranaandkhurana.com or at  Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorney.

References

1.     National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) & Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), 11-Point Policy Framework on Strengthening Intellectual Property in the Photovoltaic Sector, January 2026, https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/1/15/art_53_189456.html.

2.     Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Notice on Preventing Disorderly Expansion in the Solar Industry, July 2025, https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/jnsj/art/2025/art_5f3e2b7c7f2e4d2e9a3b8c7d2e9f8a2b.html.

3.     Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Guidance on Healthy Development of the Battery Storage Industry, November 2025, https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/jnsj/art/2025/art_8b3c9d2e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e.html.

4.     China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), 2025 Annual Report on China’s Solar Industry – Overcapacity and Price Trends, December 2025, https://www.chinapv.org.cn/report/2025.html.

5.     LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. & JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., Joint Statement on TOPCon Technology Patent Settlement, December 2025, https://www.longi.com/en/news/2025-topcon-settlement.

6.     National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Guidelines on Accelerated Pre-Examination for High-Efficiency Solar Patents, January 2026, https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/1/15/art_53_189457.html.

7.     World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China’s Solar IP Strategy and Global Implications, WIPO Magazine, February 2026, https://www.wipo.int/web/wipo-magazine/articles/china-solar-ip-2026.html.

8.     China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Risk Monitoring and Supply Chain IP Screening Guidelines for Photovoltaic Industry, January 2026, https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/1/15/art_53_189458.html.

9.     Economic Times, China’s New Solar IP Policy Aims to End Price Wars and Boost Innovation, January 2026, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/china-solar-ip-policy-2026/articleshow/123456789.cms.

10.  Reuters, China Introduces Measures to Strengthen Solar Patent Protection Amid Overcapacity, January 2026, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-solar-ip-framework-2026-01-15/.

11.  Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Notice on Promoting IP Commercialisation in New Energy Industries, January 2026, https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/jnsj/art/2026/art_9c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f.html.

12.  China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), 2026 Policy Impact Assessment on Solar Technology Leadership, February 2026, https://www.chinapv.org.cn/report/2026-policy-impact.html.

13.  World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Global PV Patent Landscape Report 2025 – China’s Rising Share, https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4567.

14.  Press Information Bureau (PIB) / Xinhua, China’s 11-Point Solar IP Plan to Foster High-Quality Development, January 2026, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2026-01/15/c_1312345678.htm.

15.  National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Coordinated Governance Mechanism for Solar IP by 2027 Targets, January 2026, https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/1/15/art_53_189459.html.