China: Antitrust Regulator Summons Six Polysilicon Giants Over Alleged Anti-Competitive Practices
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ordered Tongwei, GCL Technology and Daqo to cease all coordination on prices and production capacities. The companies must submit a rectification plan by January 20, 2026.
| Countries | Chine, États-Unis |
|---|---|
| Sector | Énergie Solaire |
| Theme | Régulation & Gouvernance |
The Chinese competition regulator has taken decisive action. On January 8, 2026, SAMR summoned six of the world’s largest photovoltaic polysilicon producers to its Beijing headquarters. Among the companies concerned are Tongwei Co., Ltd., the global sector leader, GCL Technology Holdings Ltd. and Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co., Ltd. The authority accuses them of conduct that may violate China’s Anti-Monopoly Law.
According to China Securities News, SAMR issued three explicit prohibitions: companies must not coordinate their production capacities, must not manipulate their utilization rates and must not enter into price-fixing agreements. The regulator also proscribed “market division” and “allocation of production and profits according to investment ratios.” The companies concerned have until January 20, 2026 to submit their written rectification plans.
A Joint Venture Under Scrutiny
The regulatory intervention follows the creation in December 2025 of Beijing Guanghe Qiancheng Technology Co., Ltd. This structure brings together the sector’s main players according to a precise capital allocation. Tongwei Solar Technology (Emeishan) holds 30.35% of the capital, GCL Technology Consulting Services 16.79%, Shanghai East Hope New Energy 11.30% and DAQO Energy 11.13%. Xinte Energy owns 10.12% of shares, Asia Silicon (Qinghai) 7.79% and Beijing Zhongguang Tonghe Energy, an entity affiliated with the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), 3.37%.
The joint venture has registered capital of 3 billion yuan (approximately $380 million), with a fundraising target of 50 billion yuan. According to industry sources, this platform aimed to remove one million metric tons of capacity from the market in 2026. This collective strategy would theoretically support polysilicon prices after their collapse of nearly 90% between 2022 and mid-2025.
Price Rebound and Regulatory Alert
The announcement of this structure’s formation triggered an immediate market reaction. Polysilicon spot prices jumped 50% from their lows, reaching 52,000 yuan per ton in early December 2025. During the first week of January 2026, new orders were trading between 60,000 and 65,000 yuan per ton. Wafer manufacturers, including Longi and TCL Zhonghuan, reportedly raised their prices by approximately 12% in late December, citing rising silicon costs.
This coordinated reflation of the entire solar supply chain, occurring just before the peak procurement season for 2026 projects, allegedly triggered SAMR’s intervention. The regulator appears to have ruled in favor of low prices for national energy infrastructure, at the expense of polysilicon producers’ margins.
A Sector Weakened by Price War
The industry was emerging from a period of massive value destruction. In the third quarter of 2025, Tongwei reported a loss of 315 million yuan (approximately $40 million), compared to 844 million yuan a year earlier. GCL Technology recorded a profit of 960 million yuan over the same period, thanks to its proprietary Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) granular silicon technology. This technology consumes less electricity than the Siemens process used by its competitors.
Chinese polysilicon production capacity now exceeds double global demand. In July 2025, spot prices had fallen to approximately 34,700 yuan per ton, a level considered below the production costs of many second-tier facilities. This situation had pushed sector players to seek collective stabilization mechanisms.
Dual Sino-American Regulatory Pressure
Chinese producers face an additional constraint from Washington. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted on July 4, 2025, tightens restrictions on Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC). This legislation defines as FEOC any entity owned or controlled by the Chinese government. The participation of Beijing Zhongguang Tonghe Energy, affiliated with CPIA and supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), could complicate joint venture members’ access to the American market.
American Investment Tax Credits (ITC) and Production Tax Credits (PTC) for solar and wind will be eliminated for projects whose construction has not begun by July 4, 2026. This deadline is triggering a race to install in the US market. Meanwhile, tariffs on solar modules from Southeast Asia reach up to 91% for certain Chinese manufacturers operating in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Outlook for a Bifurcated Market
The global solar market is heading toward increased geopolitical segmentation. On one side, a China-centered supply chain will feed domestic, European and emerging markets with prices kept low by regulation. On the other, a supply chain excluding FEOC entities will supply the United States at significantly higher costs.
Solar modules currently trade around 1 yuan per watt in China, approximately $0.21 per watt. The American market shows significantly higher prices due to tariff and regulatory barriers. This structural divergence is redefining Chinese producers’ expansion strategies, now constrained to navigate between domestic low-price requirements and progressive exclusion from Western markets.
