China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a series of closed-door meetings with solar-power companies from 19 to 21 August, its second round of talks in as many months, telling the firms to curb overcapacity, tighten project approvals and stop selling below cost. The ministry called on the industry to "jointly promote healthy and sustainable development" and warned against what it described as “extreme” price competition. The intervention follows a steep downturn that wiped about ¥40 billion from the manufacturing value chain in 2024 and prompted major producers to shed nearly a third of their workforce. Analysts estimate China can currently produce roughly twice the number of solar panels the world will buy this year, and say 20-30 % of output must be removed for the sector to return to profitability. Executives from leading polysilicon makers are discussing the creation of a ¥50 billion (US$9 billion) industry fund that would acquire and shut about one-third of national polysilicon capacity. Detailed measures to phase out outdated production and police below-cost sales could be finalised in the coming days, according to people familiar with the talks. China’s solar push is part of a wider regional effort to tackle industrial overcapacity. Beijing is also preparing an overhaul of petrochemicals and oil refining, while South Korea on 20 August secured commitments from ten petrochemical companies to cut annual naphtha-cracking capacity by 2.7 million to 3.7 million tonnes—roughly a quarter of the country’s total—as part of a government-backed restructuring programme.