China's Solar Exports Soar as World Grapples with Energy Crisis

By Tsvetana Paraskova - May 21, 2026

Despite the end of China's export tax refunds on April 1, exports of Chinese solar cells and panels continued to surge in April as demand for solar installations in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe soars amid the oil and gas crisis.

Exports to Southeast Asia and Africa eased off the records in March, which benefited from the export refund policy. But they were up by 75-85% compared to April 2025, according to official Chinese customs data carried by Reuters.

Despite the expectations of higher prices of the products without the tax refund, overseas shipments continued their strong momentum in April.

China's exports of solar cells and panels to Africa surged by 83% in April from a year earlier, with South African purchases up by over 81%, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also emerging as a key buyer, according to the customs data.

Exports to Southeast Asia jumped by 75% year over year in April, with the Philippines more than doubling the volume of its solar equipment imports from China.

China's solar exports hit a record-high of 68 gigawatts (GW) in March, double the February export volumes, due to the spike in energy prices and an additional boost from changes to Chinese tax rebates, data analyzed by Ember showed last month.

The value of the solar PV technology exports soared to $4.8 billion in March, more than doubled compared to $2.2 billion in solar export value in February.

Overall, Chinese exports of clean technology, including solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries, surged to a record-high in March as the war in the Middle East resulted in a major oil and gas supply shock that drove consumers and governments to lean more on renewable energy and EVs.

The export value of all of China's clean tech exports surged to $25.77 billion in March, data by energy think tank Ember showed. This was 30% higher than the value of the February exports, and more than 50% higher than the Chinese sales of clean tech overseas in March 2025.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com