On October 12, "Dialogue" on CCTV-2 aired the program titled "Where is the Confidence in Chinese Photovoltaics?" Trina Solar Chairman and CEO Gao Jifan joined six other photovoltaic industry leaders at the CCTV studio to address current industry challenges and discuss its future. The keywords “cooperation” and “innovation” were frequently mentioned.
On October 12, "Dialogue" on CCTV-2 aired the program titled "Where is the Confidence in Chinese Photovoltaics?" Trina Solar Chairman and CEO Gao Jifan joined six other photovoltaic industry leaders at the CCTV studio to address current industry challenges and discuss its future. The keywords “cooperation” and “innovation” were frequently mentioned. The program concluded with a team-building activity where all seven entrepreneurs wrote the character “合,” symbolizing their commitment to "moving towards light and achieving win-win cooperation." This reflects an expectation for collaborative efforts within the industry to overcome internal competition, aligning with Trina Solar’s founding principle of "Harnessing Trends Together for Greatness."
Gao emphasized that only through collaboration and innovation can the entire industry reach new heights. He called for complementary advantages, long-board cooperation, and building a new ecosystem for coordinated development to jointly explore high-quality growth paths in China's photovoltaic sector.
Gao Jifan shared the story of collaborative partnerships, starting with a strategic cooperation with Tongwei 17 years ago to navigate the industry's second cycle. Four years ago, they jointly invested 15 billion yuan with Tongwei and TCL Zhonghuan to deepen their collaboration and establish a complete 210mm industrial chain. Today, they are working together with industry chain enterprises to build a new platform for collaborative innovation.
Gao pointed out that in the photovoltaic industry's 1.0 era, companies focused on developing their strengths while maintaining close upstream and downstream cooperation. As the industry evolved into its 2.0 era, vertical integration became a priority, leading to reduced collaboration and intensified "involution" competition. In response to this challenge, Trina Solar believes it is essential to seek new cooperative models through equity partnerships, industrial chain collaborations, and innovative alliances to complement each other's strengths as they prepare for the photovoltaic industry's 3.0 era—ultimately achieving shared benefits and win-win cooperation.
In July of this year, Jiangsu Qunchuang Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd was officially established with shares held by leading companies like Trina Solar, JinkoSolar, and Juhe Materials. "Leading enterprises across the entire supply chain are innovating collectively while sharing intellectual property rights to elevate technology and products further," Gao said. "This paves a new path for breaking 'involution' in our industry."
The chairman of Longi Green Energy, Zhong Baoshen, TCL Central's chairman Li Dongsheng, and Tongwei Group's chairman Liu Hanyuan all expressed strong agreement. Zhong emphasized that collaboration is fundamental to industry development, significantly enhancing standardization, reducing costs, and facilitating customer choices. Despite competition among companies, differentiated and positional competition can lead to win-win cooperation.
Li recalled deep collaborations with Trina Solar, Longi, and JinkoSolar that included mutual support in equity matters. He believes this model enhances the efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain while boosting China's photovoltaic industry's international competitiveness.
Liu added that cooperation should extend beyond agreements; it must be realized at every stage of the supply chain through strong alliances that share outcomes. Such collaboration is essential for advancing the industry chain and improving international competitiveness.
"Of course, it is insufficient to rely solely on the existing strengths of the industry. We hope the government can provide comprehensive planning and guidance for the photovoltaic sector," said Gao Jifan. He emphasized the need for national support to accelerate industrial clustering and better integrate the industry, enabling it to move towards an orderly and healthy development path. This would enhance the value of resources invested across society. "The collaboration between the state and industry can transform the current situation, reversing trends and paving a new golden decade for photovoltaics."
It is worth mentioning that the "National Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology" established at Trina Solar focuses on major national needs, targeting three key tasks in advanced solar cell technology. It promotes fundamental, frontier, and specialized research for next-generation photovoltaic technologies and collaborates with industry chain enterprises to establish an innovation center in Jiangsu.
The laboratory aims to build an innovative community to advance the industrialization of next-generation battery technologies. To date, it has set or broken world records 26 times, with over 5,600 patent applications and more than 3,000 granted patents. It has also proposed and published IEC international standards, creating a new energy system based on global collaboration and shared innovation while striving to be a pioneer and leader in high-quality development within the smart energy storage industry.