China’s solar photovoltaic policy: An analysis based on policy instruments

• We examine the evolution of China’s PV policies by using policy instruments analysis.
• China focused on supply-side policies before 2004 and then turned to demand-side policies.
• We mapped the milestones of China’s PV policies with the international market share.
• The policy practices in other countries highly influenced the changes of China’s PV policy.
• The rationale for China’s PV policy is still government management-oriented rather than industry efficiency-oriented.

In the last decade, China’s photovoltaic (PV) industry has developed rapidly, with the joint promotion of the world market and domestic policies, and China has now become the largest PV manufacturer in the world. Meanwhile, the international market has responded to China’s rapid development, in light of the Chinese government’s industrial policies, and “anti-dumping and anti-bribery investigation”, focusing on China’s solar industry policies, has been proposed. This paper examines the development history of China’s PV industry policy system from the perspective of industrial policies and compares China with United States, Germany and Japan from the perspective of both the supply and demand-side policies. The study finds that, unlike the international practice, which attaches importance to subsidies for the market demand-side, China’s policies focus on government regulation, concentrating mainly on the product popularization and application stages, with insufficient investment in research and development in the early stage. On the other hand, however, China’s PV policies are gradually changing from production supply prioritization to demand-side policy domination. This paper suggests that, while simultaneously increasing investment in research and development, China’s PV policies should continue to reinforce the market demand-side policies and gradually exit the production supply-side policies.