Sources: Curbs on battery biz tightened

China has summoned the country's biggest battery, power and energy storage companies, including CATL, BYD and Gotion, as well as system integrators like Trina Solar, to a closed-door meeting with four top regulators, sources told China Daily.

The move signals a high-level move to curb price wars and unchecked capacity expansion in an industry that now dominates nearly 70 percent of the global market.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the country's top industry regulator, said on Wednesday that it convened the meeting on Tuesday together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Energy Administration, to further regulate competition and restore market order in the power and energy-storage battery sector.

Several sources close to the industry told China Daily that about 16 leading companies participated in the session. Almost all leading battery makers, including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, BYD, China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology Co Ltd, Gotion High-Tech, EVE Energy, Sunwoda and SVOLT, attended.

The meeting also involved several battery supply chain suppliers like Zhejiang Jiyao Tongxing Energy Technology Co Ltd and Cornex New Energy Co Ltd. Three system integrators — CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Co Ltd, HyperStrong New Energy Technology Co Ltd and Trina Solar — were also present, sources confirmed.

According to the MIIT, regulators pledged to tighten market supervision, enhance price-related enforcement, step up inspections of production consistency and product quality, and crack down on intellectual property violations.

They also said they would refine capacity management with monitoring and tiered early-warning mechanisms, strengthen macro-level coordination and guard against overcapacity risks.

The meeting underscored official support for stronger industry self-discipline. Authorities urged industry associations to guide companies toward rational capacity planning and help foster a market environment characterized by fair competition and "quality over price". Coordination between central and local governments will also be bolstered to curb redundant projects, officials said.

The meeting also said that China's battery, power and energy-storage industry has expanded rapidly, securing a "phased competitive advantage" on the global stage, but warned that blind capacity expansion, low-price competition and other non-rational practices were disrupting market order and weakening the sector's sustainability.

According to the latest data from South Korean market consultancy SNE Research, six Chinese companies ranked among the world's top 10 by installed power battery capacity from January to November last year. Together, they accounted for 69.4 percent of global market share, up more than three percentage points year-on-year.

chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn