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The relevant person in charge of the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce of China said in an interview with this reporter that on the one hand, with the low labor cost and competitive price advantage, “Made in China†speeds up the pace of “going outâ€. Touching the interests of others, when it is impossible to compete with "Made in China" in price, it may initiate anti-dumping and other means to restrict the development of Chinese enterprises; on the other hand, it should also be seen that China's photovoltaic industry is still in the downstream of the industrial chain. The added value of products is not high. The lack of independent intellectual property rights and core technologies is also one of the main reasons why China is often subject to “double-reverse†investigations. As a strategic emerging industry, the photovoltaic industry is a technology-intensive industry type. It can rely on intellectual property rights to break down trade barriers and achieve the transition from “winning by price†to “winning by qualityâ€, thus occupying the market and coping with “ Double reverse".
"Going out": encountering trade barriers
In the latest anti-dumping investigation in the United States, Chinese companies will receive a cash deposit of up to 20.38% when they export crystalline silicon photovoltaic products to the United States. If the final decision made by the relevant US authorities at the beginning of next year is a positive ruling, US Customs will formally impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese export-related enterprises.
In fact, since the 1990s, China's photovoltaic industry has begun to emerge in the industry. By 2009, China's photovoltaic cell production accounted for 40% of the world's total output, becoming the veritable PV manufacturing industry's largest country. Correspondingly, according to data released by Thomson Reuters, China ranked second only to Japan in terms of patents related to solar technology published between 1990 and 2009, accounting for 13% of global related technology patent applications. . It is also from this time that high-quality and inexpensive Chinese PV products began to receive resistance from all sides. Since 2011, Chinese PV companies have encountered dozens of “double-reverse†surveys in the US and Europe.
In this regard, Li Shunde, director of the Department of Law and Intellectual Property of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with this reporter that China is now facing global competition, although China’s manufacturing industry has carried out certain patent accumulation and layout in recent years. However, as a whole, the export unit price is still low, and some small and medium-sized enterprises are willing to pay each other to compete for the market. These sensitive factors are the most concerned by the United States and the European Union. "The price war between domestic enterprises has led to insufficient technological innovation and increased R&D investment, which will have an adverse impact on industrial restructuring, intellectual property protection and the cultivation of independent brand products." Li Shunde said.
In fact, although China has ranked the world's top patent applications in the photovoltaic industry in recent years, from the perspective of patent application types, the number of invention patent applications in the PV industry patent applications submitted in China is only 13%, and practical. The proportion of new patent applications is as high as 60%. Taking some Chinese companies that have encountered anti-dumping investigations as an example, through the patent search and service system query analysis of the official website of the State Intellectual Property Office, it can be seen that Shenzhen Tuo Rixin Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and BYD’s Shangluo BYD Industrial Co., Ltd. Patent application is open. Hairun Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd. submitted a total of 52 Chinese patent applications, of which only 6 were invention patent applications.
Even Hengdian Group East Magnetic Co., Ltd., which has strong patent strength, has reached 229 utility model patent applications and design patent applications in its 375 Chinese patent applications, accounting for more than 60%.
Countermeasures: relying on intellectual property
In the interview, our reporter confirmed from the relevant person in charge of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Electromechanical Import and Export that when the photovoltaic industry was busy dealing with the anti-dumping investigation in the United States, at the other end of the globe, including the European Union, including the German Sun World. Photovoltaic manufacturers are also preparing application materials and intend to file an anti-circumvention investigation application for Chinese PV products. Responding to "double opposition" has become a hurdle that has to be crossed in front of China's photovoltaic industry.
Sun Na, a researcher at the China World Trade Organization Institute of the University of International Business and Economics, said that the “double-reverse†survey can serve as a mirror for China's PV product exports, reflecting the idea that China's PV industry exports volume to grab the market and want to sell small profits but quick turnover. This export model has limited profitability and is prone to trade frictions. As a representative of technology-intensive strategic emerging industries, PV companies must realize the value-added of intangible assets, that is, to establish brands and accumulate patents, so that enterprises can complete the transition from “winning by price†to “winning by qualityâ€.
In the interview, the reporter learned that the core technology field of the photovoltaic industry involves the conversion of radiant energy into electrical energy, and the semiconductor device that conducts electric energy control through radiation, which is used in methods and equipment for manufacturing and processing semiconductor devices. At present, enterprises in the United States, Japan and other countries and regions monopolize the supply of global polysilicon materials. After Chinese companies purchase silicon materials from abroad, they are processed into silicon wafers and solar cells in China, and the final components are packaged and then exported. This "two-outside" model enables domestic PV companies to undertake high-level pollution and high-energy-consuming links in the industrial chain, with weak anti-risk capabilities and high production costs.
After in-depth analysis of the current patent layout of the photovoltaic industry, the relevant person in charge of the Intellectual Property Development Research Center of the State Intellectual Property Office told this reporter that China's photovoltaic industry should strengthen the introduction, digestion, absorption and re-innovation of core patents such as crystalline silicon purification. Pay attention to the original innovation and patent application work of metallurgical silicon technology, and at the same time prevent the intellectual property risks of thin film photovoltaic cells and dye-sensitized battery technology, actively lay out peripheral patents in the above technical fields, and finally form the core technology advantages with independent intellectual property rights.
Li Shunde believes that even if legal means are used to circumvent the influence of the "double-reverse" investigation, the traditional export model relying on price wars can only make photovoltaic products seize market share, but can not obtain more profits. Therefore, the photovoltaic industry should continue to innovate, have more core intellectual property rights, and further establish a high-end image of “China's smart creation†to win a market that can create brand value and even create long-term benefits.
Abstract This is not the first time the media has claimed that China's PV industry is undergoing a “cold winterâ€. The US Department of Commerce recently announced the preliminary results of the anti-dumping investigation, and found that crystalline silicon photovoltaic products imported from China and Taiwan have existed...
This is not the first time the media has claimed that China's photovoltaic industry is undergoing a "cold winter." The US Department of Commerce recently announced the preliminary results of the anti-dumping investigation, and found that the crystalline silicon photovoltaic products imported from China and Taiwan have dumping behaviors, and will impose margins on related product manufacturers and exporters. The company is "shot".