Solar systems and their primary products from China are dividing the photovoltaics industry in Europe. Overcapacity in the home country and disproportionate subsidies are driving solar systems from the People's Republic to Europe.
China's Xinjiang region, which is predominantly inhabited by Muslim minorities, is a stronghold of the Chinese solar industry. At the same time, according to reliable reports, there are forced labor programs there. Members of minorities, especially Uighurs, are forced to work in factories at the behest of the government - mostly in Xinjiang itself, but apparently occasionally in other parts of the country. The USA has therefore been banning all imports from Xinjiang since the end of 2021 with its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act - unless they can be proven to be free of forced labor. Opponents of Chinese imports have already called on Brussels to follow the US and ban imports of Xinjiang. The European Solar Association ESMC is also calling for the planned EU regulation banning products made from forced labor to come into force as quickly as possible. The EU solar industry is actually managing to avoid Xinjiang. Exports from the region to the 27 EU member states rose by 217.8 percent in January and February compared to the same period last year. The most popular goods from there were lithium-ion batteries, tomato paste, and various goods of low value - but not products from the solar supply chain. The new supply chain laws are also forcing buyers to rethink. They oblige companies to keep their supply chain free of human rights violations such as forced labor and serious environmental damage. The German law is already in force, and the even stricter EU supply chain law is in the final stages of the process. Both laws make no mention of China or Xinjiang. But Beijing doesn't call it that: "There is a clear instruction from Beijing that says 'Build an export barrier-free supply chain!' The companies apparently don't say it twice out of their own interest. Leave it alone. In general, China is already trying to build a Xinjiang-free supply chain."