Chint and JA Solar end patent battle, initial results seen in countering involution

Amid the global energy transition wave, the patent dispute courts within China's photovoltaic industry, once filled with fierce competition, are quietly transforming into negotiation tables for win - win cooperation.

Chint New Energy and JA Solar Technology jointly announced in the early hours of November 29 that they have reached a settlement on patent disputes globally, terminated all relevant legal procedures, and achieved a cross - license for TOPCon patents.

This is another instance of "turning enemies into friends" among industry giants in the photovoltaic sector, following the settlement between LONGi Green Energy and JinkoSolar in September.

In just over two months, four industry leaders have shifted from confrontation to cooperation, sending a clear signal of "anti - involution" in the photovoltaic industry. The entire industry, once trapped in a vicious price war, is now seeking a new balance for orderly competition under policy guidance and industry self - discipline.

Endless Price Bloodbath: The Industry Plunges into Losses and Life - and - Death Struggles

Over the past year or so, the photovoltaic industry has entered its "darkest hour". Media statistics at the end of the year revealed that the total annual losses of A - share listed photovoltaic companies in 2024 exceeded 60 billion yuan.

Low - price competition has become the norm in the industry. Many enterprises are willing to sell below cost to maintain cash flow.

Liu Yiyang, the executive secretary of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, described this dilemma: "To avoid'sudden death' due to bank loan recalls, each enterprise regards'maintaining cash flow' as an overwhelming survival strategy and is willing to sell below cost for this purpose."

In such a vicious "price war", no enterprise will take the initiative to change its pricing behavior. "Everyone wants to fight until the last moment. Even though they know clearly that the later the fight, the greater the losses."

Overcapacity is the core of the problem. By the end of 2024, the production capacities of the four core industrial chains of Chinese photovoltaic silicon materials, silicon wafers, batteries, and components all exceeded 1100GW.

According to the estimation of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, even under an optimistic scenario, the global photovoltaic demand in 2025 will only be 600GW, and the Chinese market will account for about 250GW.

The entire global market cannot absorb the continuous supply of photovoltaic products from China.

Policy Guidance and Industry Self - Rescue in the Anti - Involution Campaign

Facing the severe situation, a full - scale "anti - involution" campaign was launched in 2025, from the central government to the industry association.

On July 1, 2025, the Sixth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission set the strategic tone, clearly stating that it is necessary to root out the disorderly low - price competition of enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations and guide the industry towards a high - quality development path.

At the legal level, the newly revised Anti - Unfair Competition Law clearly lists selling below cost as illegal. At the action level, six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly held a symposium on the photovoltaic industry on August 19, taking strong measures in four major directions, including strengthening regulation, curbing low prices, and standardizing quality.

The industry association is also at the forefront of self - discipline. On October 14, 2024, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association held a "Special Symposium on Preventing 'Involution - style' Vicious Competition in the Industry".

Four days later, the results of the symposium were released: Any photovoltaic module that bids and wins a project at a price below the minimum cost of 0.68 yuan per watt is suspected of violating the law.

This is the first time that the photovoltaic industry has clearly set the cost price as a red line for bidding and tendering in the form of self - regulatory rules.

Liu Yiyang called this step "stopping the bleeding" for the severely loss - making industry.

Initial Glimmer of Hope in Anti - Involution: From Price War to Win - Win Cooperation

A series of "anti - involution" measures are beginning to show initial results.

At the end of October, many listed photovoltaic companies successively disclosed their third - quarter financial reports. LONGi Green Energy, a leading enterprise, achieved an operating income of 50.915 billion yuan in the first three quarters. Although its net profit attributable to the parent company still recorded a loss of 3.403 billion yuan, the loss narrowed by 47.52% year - on - year, and the company has significantly reduced losses for two consecutive quarters.

Daqo New Energy, a leading upstream silicon material enterprise, also achieved a revenue of 1.773 billion yuan in the third quarter, a year - on - year increase of 24.75%, and finally turned losses into profits.

The price of polysilicon has also gradually stabilized and rebounded. According to data from the Silicon Industry Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, since July 2025, the price of polysilicon has risen significantly. By the end of September, the price of N - type dense polysilicon had increased by 56% compared with the price low at the end of June.

Driven by both policy guidance and industry self - discipline, the price of polysilicon has steadily recovered from the vicious competition range of less than 30,000 yuan per ton to the current rational level of about 55,000 yuan per ton.

An even more positive change is that enterprises are starting to shift from patent wars to technological cooperation.

The settlement agreement between Chint New Energy and JA Solar Technology not only terminates global patent disputes but also achieves a cross - license for TOPCon patents, with a commitment not to initiate any lawsuits regarding relevant patents in the future.

The two companies stated in a joint statement: "The achievement of this settlement is a practical manifestation of both parties' adherence to integrity, innovation, and mutual benefit, and it also sets an example for the industry to build a healthy and sustainable intellectual property cooperation model."

Summary: The Road is Long, but the Direction is Clear

The "anti - involution" campaign in the photovoltaic industry has achieved initial results, but it is still far from completely getting out of the dilemma of low - price competition.

Fu Sha, the executive director of strategy and integration at the Energy Foundation, estimates that based on the implementation of current "anti - involution" policies and the market competition pattern, the pain period of the photovoltaic industry's transformation may last for another two or three years.

However, the direction is clear. More and more enterprises are realizing that the brutal price competition is unsustainable, and they must shift to win - win cooperation.

From vicious competition to patent sharing, from price war to technological cooperation, the Chinese photovoltaic industry is bidding farewell to involution and seeking a new balance.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Foreseeing Energy", author: Zhao Jianan, published by 36Kr with authorization.