China has grabbed a dominant slice of market share in many sectors. The latest is electric car batteries, an industry still in its early stages. To see where this might end, consider solar cells. Here, China has an unassailable lead and dominates the entire supply chain.
Chinese manufacturers have garnered economies of scale thanks to a burgeoning captive domestic market. Installed solar capacity increased nearly two-thirds to a record 87 gigawatts in 2022.
The largest solar-panel makers slashed prices by about a third at the end of last year. In the first four months of this year installed capacity nearly tripled year on year. Exports more than doubled in 2022 despite claims concerning forced labour.