China Adds Solar Module Quality Oversight to Regulatory Focus, Complementing Pricing and Capacity Controls

Photovoltaic modules have been included among key products subject to quality inspections in 2026, alongside lithium batteries, civil explosives and radio transmission equipment, according to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology or MIIT in a notice issued on Monday. The move is seen as part of regulatory measures to tackle challenges in the sector, including quality issues.

The 2026 Notice on Advancing Industrial and Information Technology Quality Work emphasizes the need to strengthen quality supervision and management, while identifying the optimization of the quality development ecosystem as a key priority.

Market participants view the move as part of broader regulatory efforts to address structural challenges in the PV sector, particularly under conditions of weak end-user demand and intensifying competition among manufacturers. The increased focus on product quality is regarded as an additional regulatory dimension, complementing ongoing attention to pricing discipline and capacity management.

The solar industry has undergone rapid capacity expansion followed by significant price declines in the last three years. According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association or CPIA, the country’s solar module output reached 499 gigawatts in 2023, 588 GW in 2024 and 620 GW in 2025.

However, quality concerns have emerged along with this expansion. Data released by the National Photovoltaic Products Quality Inspection and Testing Center or CPVT last August shows that the overall module pass rate declined from 100% in 2019 to 62.9% in 2024, indicating that more than one-third of tested modules failed to meet required standards. In 2025, spot checks by the center, covering 69 module batches from 36 companies, identified quality issues in 11 batches. This resulted in a non-conformance rate of nearly 16%, with reported defects including mechanical load failures, non-compliant efficiency and insufficient output power.

Industry sources attribute these quality issues largely to persistent overcapacity and intense price competition, which have placed financial pressure on manufacturers. In response, some producers have reportedly adopted aggressive cost-reduction measures that compromise product quality, such as the use of substandard materials or overstated performance ratings. These deficiencies may lead to safety risks, including glass breakage, fire hazards and electrical failures, potentially affecting both personnel safety and power plant operations.

Regulators have responded accordingly. In March, MIIT sought public feedback on two proposed mandatory national standards—Safety Requirements for Photovoltaic Modules and Identification Requirements for Photovoltaic Module Nameplates. The former aims to enhance lifecycle safety performance through unified benchmarks, while the latter targets false labeling and misleading product claims by requiring accurate and verifiable nameplate information. Market participants note that the inclusion of PV modules in the key inspection list by MIIT’s April notice signals a shift from standard-setting toward stricter enforcement.

Many industry participants believe that effective enforcement of stricter quality standards could accelerate the elimination of low-quality production capacity, shift competition toward value and performance, and encourage a transition from scale-driven growth to quality-oriented development. However, some remain cautious, noting that the effectiveness of regulatory measures will depend on consistent implementation, including rigorous spot inspections and enforcement at local levels.

Continued Policy Calls on Pricing and Capacity Alongside Quality Oversight

In January, directives from the State Administration for Market Regulation or SAMR required solar manufacturers to suspend coordinated “self-regulation” measures involving production, sales and pricing due to concerns about potential monopoly. Since then, in the absence of policies supporting price stabilization or capacity reduction, market fundamentals—including persistent oversupply, high inventory levels and weak end-user demand—have remained the primary drivers of pricing, maintaining downward pressure across the solar supply chain. Market expectations for capacity rationalization policies have so far remained unmet.

Price assessments released in the OPIS Global Solar Markets Report on April 14 indicate that polysilicon, N-type M10 wafers, Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact or TOPCon M10 solar cells, and TOPCon modules declined by 30.35%, 12.50%, 13.54% and 1.67%, respectively, compared with early-March assessment levels.

Despite the ongoing price pressure, Chinese authorities have continued with efforts to stabilize the solar market, with policy guidance appearing to intensify as price declines accelerated toward the end of the first quarter. However, market participants note that most initiatives remain at the level of policy direction rather than concrete execution, and therefore have yet to produce measurable effects on supply–demand balances or pricing trends.

At the 2026 National Conference on High-Quality Development of the Electronic Information Manufacturing Industry held on Friday, MIIT emphasized the need to strengthen the resilience and security of key industrial and supply chains during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), including taking steps to curb disorderly competition within the PV sector.

Other regulatory signals have reinforced this policy direction. On March 30, SAMR issued a notice promoting stricter implementation of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, targeting disorderly practices in sectors including photovoltaics, lithium batteries and new energy vehicles. Earlier, on March 14, the National Development and Reform Commission released its annual development report, highlighting the need to address disorderly competition and strengthen product quality supervision while supporting price recovery for key industrial products such as polysilicon, wafers and lithium carbonate.

In early April, CPIA issued a notice proposing the development of a General Principles of Photovoltaic Product Manufacturing Cost Identification Model. The proposed framework is aimed at standardizing cost calculation methodologies across major manufacturing segments, improving cost transparency and providing a unified benchmark for industry-wide cost comparisons.

Industry views of this proposed initiative remain mixed. Some participants view it as a constructive step toward improving cost transparency and clarifying non-compliant pricing practices. Others are of the opinion that while standardized cost models may enhance visibility into production economics, meaningful market improvement will ultimately depend on the implementation of effective policies that phase out outdated production capacity.

—Reporting by Summer Zhang, szhang@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com