On the afternoon of June 5, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. Reporter: On June 1, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the extension of the exemption period for the 301 investigation on China's behavior, policies and practices in technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The exemption period was originally scheduled to expire on May 31, 2025, and was extended to August 31, 2025. What is the Ministry of Commerce's comment on this?   He Yongqian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce: China's position against the US 301 tariffs is clear and consistent. The US 301 tariff measures are a typical unilateralism and trade protectionism. Previously, the WTO expert group has ruled that the US 301 tariff measures violate WTO rules. The final cost of the US 301 tariff measures is borne by American companies and consumers, which is a typical behavior of harming others and not benefiting oneself. We urge the US to completely cancel all restrictive measures against China, including the 301 tariffs, and work with China to maintain the consensus spirit of the Geneva economic and trade talks and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of Sino-US economic and trade relations.

The United States announced an extension of partial exemptions for China's 301 tariffs! North Star Solar Photovoltaic Network learned that on May 31 local time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the extension of the exemption period in the 301 investigation of China's behavior, policies and practices in technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. These exemptions were originally scheduled to expire on May 31, 2025, and have now been extended to August 31, 2025.

According to Thai media reports, the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) held a meeting on the 19th and introduced 4 measures to help Thai companies cope with US tariffs and external challenges. First, stop investment promotion preferences for industries with oversupply or susceptible to trade restrictions from the United States and other countries, including solar cell and panel manufacturing, some auto parts (lead-acid batteries, decorative parts, etc. that do not affect vehicle driving performance and safety), metal cutting, waste sorting outside industrial parks and without recycling links, downstream steel industries such as long product manufacturing, plates (only hot-rolled coils, thick steel plates), various steel pipes, etc. Second, for industries susceptible to US trade measures, strengthen the review of key production processes. For example, auto parts, electrical appliances, electronics, metal products and light industries will set clear conditions, must have key production processes, fully process and transform raw materials, improve the acceptance of Thai products in the export market, and ensure national interests. Third, adjust the employment conditions for foreign personnel. For manufacturing enterprises applying for investment promotion, if the total number of employees of the company reaches 100 or more, at least 70% of the employees must be Thai. Foreigners applying for BOI visas and work permits must meet the minimum salary standards, such as a monthly salary of not less than 150,000 baht for senior executives and a monthly salary of not less than 50,000 baht for professional and technical personnel, in order to protect local employment. Fourth, help small and medium-sized enterprises affected by US tariffs. Encourage Thai small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in improving their own efficiency and enhancing their competitiveness, such as replacing machinery and equipment, adopting automation and digital technology, saving energy, upgrading to international sustainable standards, and transforming to emerging industries. The original exemption of corporate income tax for 3 years (limited to no more than 50% of the investment amount) will be increased to 5 years (limited to no more than 100% of the investment amount).

On May 22, local time, the US solar sector fell. Among them, Sunrun, the largest rooftop solar company in the United States, fell 37.05%; equipment supplier SolarEdge Technologies fell 24.67%, and Enphase Energy fell 19.63%. In addition, Sunrun's stock price fell 9.3%, Maxeon Solar Technology fell 9.42%, NextEra Energy fell 6.43%, and First Solar's stock price fell 3%. On the news, on May 22, local time, the Republican-led House of Representatives of the United States passed the "Beautiful Big Bill" named by Trump with a narrow advantage of 215 votes to 214 votes. The bill will significantly reduce taxes, cut social spending and push up federal debt. The relevant content about the early end of clean energy tax credits may affect the further development of the photovoltaic industry.

Against the background of geo-economic restructuring and transformation of Eurasian land logistics chain, the railway departments of six countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iran and China, recently reached an agreement on railway transport tariffs in Tehran. This agreement not only injects institutional dividends into the development of the East-Central Line of the China-Europe Corridor, but also heralds the entry of the regional logistics coordination mechanism into a new stage.   Multilateral railway tariff agreement reached in Tehran At the multilateral railway conference held in Tehran, representatives of the railway departments of the six countries negotiated on the freight rates of the China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Turkey/Europe railway corridor. And finally approved a unified and coordinated competitive tariff plan. In addition to tariffs, the parties also reached an agreement on transportation timeliness standards, process simplification and service coordination, providing a policy basis for achieving efficient cross-border transportation. This railway corridor is the "East-Central Line" of land transportation between China and Europe. In recent years, it has been highly valued due to multiple international factors. Compared with the traditional Russian meridian, this corridor avoids geopolitically sensitive areas and has stronger traffic certainty and institutional flexibility. Kazakhstan data shows that in the first four months of 2025, the volume of container transportation from China to Iran through this corridor increased by 2.6 times year-on-year, reflecting the rapid increase in market acceptance of this route.   The six countries work together to release the dividend of interconnection The unified tariff mechanism reached this time is another milestone for the countries along the route to promote infrastructure interconnection and coordinated development of logistics. Especially driven by the "Belt and Road" initiative and the regional integration strategy of Central Asian countries, relevant railway operating companies are accelerating investment in modern freight stations and promoting the deployment of digital customs declaration platforms to meet the needs of more efficient channel operation. It is expected that the corridor will gradually become a strategic pillar in the China-Europe land transportation system. From coordinating freight rates to unifying service standards, the Tehran meeting marks that the "East-Central Line" is moving from path selection to institutional construction, reflecting the diversification and efficiency trend of the Eurasian Continental Bridge. The coordinated efforts of the six countries are pushing this corridor out of a new track driven by rules and efficiency.

On May 16, the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission showed that the registration application for the initial public offering of shares by Huadian New Energy Group Co., Ltd. was approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and will be issued and listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.   Huadian New Energy is the only platform for the final integration of China Huadian's new energy business, mainly wind power generation and solar power generation. The company's main business is the development, investment and operation of new energy projects mainly wind power generation and solar power generation.   According to the prospectus, Huadian New Energy plans to build a wind power generation and solar power generation capacity of 15.1655 million kilowatts, covering 23 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country, with a total investment amount of 80.446 billion yuan, far exceeding the scale of 18 billion yuan in raised funds. Huadian New Energy stated that if the actual net amount of funds raised cannot meet the investment needs of the raised projects, the gap will be solved by the company's self-financing.

After more than a decade of conflict and international sanctions, Syria's power system is on the verge of collapse. However, the variables that have emerged in the recent political and economic landscape - especially the expectation that US President Trump will visit Saudi Arabia on the 13th to announce the lifting of sanctions on Syria, and the active regional "power diplomacy" - are injecting hope of recovery into this extremely energy-deficient country. In the grand narrative of national reconstruction, solar energy and its supporting energy storage systems are ushering in an unprecedented development opportunity with their rapid deployment, distributed characteristics and cost-effectiveness. Power crisis: data and latest developments under the grim reality According to a statement by Syrian Minister of Electricity Omar Shaqrouq in early 2025, the current power generation is far from meeting demand, and it is expected to take three years to return to the level before 2010 (about 6,500 megawatts to ensure all-weather power supply), and the long-term goal is to reach an installed capacity of 12,000 megawatts by 2030. The core reasons are persistent fuel shortages and extensive damage to power plants and transmission networks. International sanctions (especially financial sanctions) have long hindered the import of key components and international financing, making it difficult to carry out necessary repairs and upgrades. Extreme power shortages and recent accidents Reports by the Associated Press, NPR, AI Maialla and other media in the first quarter of 2025 pointed out that most areas can only get 2 to 4 hours of national power supply per day, and some areas are slightly better or worse. The supply is extremely unstable and many communities are plunged into darkness at night. On April 2, 2025, a nationwide blackout caused by a technical failure of the national power grid once again exposed the extreme vulnerability of the power grid. Although the interim government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa promised to improve power supply, the actual effect was limited. The people were disappointed with the unfulfilled promises, and basic services in some areas were even worse than before. Dependence on alternative energy and high costs People and businesses generally rely on expensive private generators to maintain basic electricity. Solar energy combined with energy storage batteries has become an alternative option for those who can afford it. The price of a lithium battery energy storage system ranges from $1,500 to $3,000. The dawn of a breakthrough: expectations of sanctions adjustment and the new pattern of "electricity diplomacy" "Electricity diplomacy" is becoming a new dimension of interaction between Syria and its neighbors-regional cooperation agreement Qatar In March 2025, an initiative was launched to transport natural gas to Syria through Jordan, with the goal of generating 400 megawatts of electricity at the Deir Ali power plant in southern Damascu...

According to the latest quotation from TrendForce New Energy Research Center on May 7, silicon material prices have fallen overall. The mainstream transaction price of N-type re-invested materials fell to 39 yuan/KG; the mainstream transaction price of N-type dense materials was 37 yuan/KG; the quotation of N-type granular silicon dropped from 36 yuan/KG to 35.5 yuan/KG, a drop of 1.39%.   This week, the latest RMB price of N-type 182 monocrystalline silicon wafers was 1.02 yuan/piece, a drop of 2.86% compared with 1.05 yuan/piece last week; the RMB price of N-type 210 monocrystalline silicon wafers fell from 1.4 yuan/piece to 1.32 yuan/piece, a change of more than 5%; the quotation of N-type 210R monocrystalline silicon wafers stabilized at 1.15 yuan/piece.   The RMB price of M10 monocrystalline TOPCon cells is 0.265 yuan/W; the RMB price of G12 monocrystalline TOPCon cells is 0.28 yuan/W; the transaction price of G12R monocrystalline TOPCon cells fell to 0.265 yuan/W, a decrease of 1.85%.   The RMB price of 182 monofacial monocrystalline PERC modules is 0.69 yuan/W; the mainstream transaction price of 210 monofacial monocrystalline PERC modules is 0.7 yuan/W; the transaction price of 182 bifacial double-glass monocrystalline PERC modules is 0.7 yuan/W; the mainstream transaction price of 210 bifacial double-glass monocrystalline PERC modules is 0.71 yuan/W. The prices of 182mm TOPCon bifacial double-glass modules and 210mm HJT bifacial double-glass modules are 0.72 yuan/W and 0.86 yuan/W respectively.   This week, the price of 182-210mm TOPCon modules for centralized projects in China remained at 0.69 yuan/W; the price of 182-210mm TOPCon modules for distributed projects dropped to 0.67 yuan/W, a decrease of 1.47% from the previous 0.68 yuan/W.   The price of 2.0mm coated photovoltaic glass is 13.5 yuan/㎡; the latest quotation of 3.2mm coated photovoltaic glass is still 22.5 yuan/㎡; the price of 2.0 mm backplane glass is 12.5 yuan/㎡.

SunPower, once one of the largest photovoltaic companies in the United States, will soon be taken over and restarted by Complete Solaria after filing for bankruptcy in 2024.   Complete Solar will be renamed SunPower   TJ Rodgers, chairman and CEO of Complete Solar, the company behind the Complete Solaria brand, recently announced: "We will finally use the SunPower brand name, allowing our shareholders to benefit from this oldest and most well-known photovoltaic brand in Silicon Valley, which was founded in 1985. We are in the process of officially changing the company name to SunPower and changing the Nasdaq stock code to SPWR." Currently, Complete Solar's stock code on Nasdaq is CSLR.   SunPower Corporation focused on the residential photovoltaic market in the early days, but it struggled under the impact of the high-interest-rate environment. The company announced a cost-cutting plan in 2023, including layoffs, and sold some of its assets, including Blue Raven Solar, to Complete Solaria for $45 million in 2024, while filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.   Complete Solar has become the fifth-largest residential photovoltaic company in the United States, with outstanding financial performance after the merger   Complete Solar plans to announce its 2024 financial results on April 23, 2025. After acquiring SunPower-related assets, the company has achieved quarterly revenue of more than $80 million for two consecutive quarters, and Complete Solar will disclose further details in the financial report.   Rodgers said: "These operating data will establish the new CSLR's market position - annualized revenue exceeds $300 million, ranking fifth in the U.S. residential photovoltaic installation market. In this market, only SunRun and Freedom Forever currently have revenues of more than $1 billion. We will also show that CSLR has achieved profitability in terms of operating profit and cash flow."

On April 11, Eastern Time, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a tariff update guide. According to the guide, the United States exempted 20 tariff items in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) from the "reciprocal tariffs" under Executive Order 14257. These products include automatic data processors, computers, communications equipment, displays and modules, semiconductor-related categories, etc.   From the evening of the 12th to the 13th, some media reported that "solar cells" were also on the exemption list.   However, after checking HTSUS, solar cells were not explicitly mentioned in the 20 categories of products given in the exemption list. The current mainstream crystalline silicon solar cell tariff number is 8541.42.0010, and the crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells that have been made into components, the tariff number is 8541.43.0010, are not on the exemption list.   The following are the exemption product codes released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP on April 11: