Solar products export quota IBUonline is a B2B foreign trade platform which has helped many China suppliers

and international buyers to complete foreign trade. IBU recently conducted a survey on China supplies of solar panels. We are closely following up the distribution methods for the export quota, said Eric Liu, deputy general manager of Upsolar, a photovoltaic module producer. It forces China to adopt a planned economy in this sector, which will make things complicated, he added. As for Upsolar, it is actively seeking overseas original equipment manufacturers to avoid the trade barriers in Europe and the United States. Although the limited quota will hinder big producers sal es in the EU market, it will help Chinese solar companies think more about their long-term strategy, said Huang Kunghui, research manager at Trendforce, a provider of market intelligence, analysis and consulting services in Shanghai. As for big companies, the quota and price are both in the reasonable and acceptable range, he said. The settled price will prompt big players to pay more attention to quality and service, not competing with smaller makers just in terms of price, he added. Small companies will struggle with a tough situation. The settlement will push out some small ones because of their poor quality and low prices, Huang said. The high duties imposed earlier by the US did push some Chinese PV producers to develop other markets, such as Japan, and to move into the domestic market. The Chinese government has been working to increase demand in the domestic market. In July, it raised the 2015 target for cumulative installed PV capacity to 35 million kW from 21 million kW previously. The government is also encouraging the expansion of small-scale, distributed PV generation, such as residential installations or industrial zone solar plants, throughout the country. The trade dispute put Chinese companies weaknesses under a microscope, Huang said. IBU suggests that producers should further build their brands and improve their quality to increase their added value, so they can stop relying on price as the only way to compete.