Renewable energy manufacturer Jinko Solar Co’s recent decision to sell control of its Florida facility extends a multi-billion retreat from the US by China’s clean technology firms, as they contend with an increasingly hostile policy environment and the potential loss of Biden-era incentives.
China-based companies in the sector scrapped about US$2.8 billion (RM11.0 billion) in planned US manufacturing projects in 2025, according to research by Rhodium Group. As of the end of March, more than half of proposed Chinese clean-tech investments in the US announced since 2022 had been cancelled, paused or delayed, according to the group’s calculations.
That’s part of a broader downturn that saw a 17% decline last year in all clean technology investment in the US, Rhodium said in a report published on Wednesday.
Producers of solar equipment, batteries and electric vehicle technology have experienced a sharp reversal since Biden-era tax credits lured Chinese companies to announce US$5.6 billion of investments in 2023 alone. Since then, US President Donald Trump’s administration has rolled back incentives and, most crucially, last year’s tax bill introduced new hurdles for manufacturers with ties to so-called foreign entities of concern.
“Jinko’s decision underscores the enormous challenges facing Chinese clean-tech firms operating in the US,” said Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The company’s move should be seen as “a chilling message to anyone that wishes to come and build factories in the US,” he said.
Shanghai-based Jinko last Friday agreed to sell about a 75% stake in its solar panel facility in Florida to FH Capital, a private equity fund. The main purpose of selling the stake is “to optimise its overseas asset allocation, ensure its long-term strategic layout in the US, enhance flexibility and compliance, and facilitate its long-term development.
The decision was prompted by a need to comply with “US domestic manufacturing regulations” and to “minimise operational risks”, Jinko said in a corporate filing, without citing any specific regulations.
Jinko’s selldown follows similar moves by China-based competitors to scale back exposure to the US or to exit entirely. Trina Solar Co sold a majority stake in its Texas assembly facility in 2024, and last year Corning Inc acquired a JA Solar Technology Co plant in Arizona.
Policy changes under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act mean it has become harder, if not completely impossible, for factories controlled by Chinese companies, or heavily reliant on China-dominated supply chains, to be eligible for lucrative manufacturing tax credits.
Source: Theedgemalaysia