Last night, a blockbuster news spread on the Internet, and when I first saw the news, it even reminded people of the incident in which Ms. Meng Wanzhou, the then CFO of Huawei, was openly taken away by local judicial officers in Canada.
A large number of domestic PV equipment manufacturing executives took the same flight to Munich, Germany to participate in the solar photovoltaic exhibition, and just after getting off the plane, someone was taken away by German judicial personnel at Munich Airport. It is reported that more than one person has been taken away, and the reason for the arrest may be related to the visa, or the relevant person may be involved in tax evasion. One exhibitor in Germany even said that "this may just be the beginning". Will there still be Chinese PV executives who will be jailed in a foreign country?
Just when various news were flying in the sky, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association issued a clarification announcement, the title directly pointed out that there are many untruths in the news that photovoltaic practitioners were taken away in Germany. It seems that this incident is not as thrilling and magical as it is on the Internet, in addition, the photovoltaic association also announced the progress of the incident and some details.
First, only one person was taken away from Munich Airport in Germany, not as many people as reported on the Internet.
Second, the person concerned was assisting in the investigation, not being arrested for a real crime. There is a fundamental difference between assisting in an investigation by providing some evidence or other types of questioning, and arrest means that local criminal law may be violated.
Third, the executive who was taken away has been released and has returned to the hotel. It can be inferred that it took only a few hours from being taken away to assist in the investigation and being released, and second, that he was not repatriated by the German authorities.
There are many Chinese exhibitors in this exhibition, and the current exhibition itinerary has not changed, and the representatives of Chinese enterprises will most likely implement it according to the original plan. At present, the "Chinese PV company executives were taken away in Germany" should be a false alarm, at least different from the nature of Meng Wanzhou's detention in Canada.
So what exactly caused the German authorities to take him away to assist in the investigation just after getting off the plane? The official did not give a clear answer to this, but the conclusion can basically be inferred from the media reports and the clarification announcement of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association.
More than ten years ago, China's photovoltaic equipment has become famous in the world, not only the quality of things is good, but also the price is very cheap, such high-quality and inexpensive goods have naturally won the love of global enterprises including EU countries. However, shopping malls are like battlefields, and some people are naturally frustrated, such as photovoltaic counterparts in EU countries.
In order to protect domestic enterprises, Europe and the United States launched an "anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation" against China's photovoltaic industry in 2012, when a German photovoltaic manufacturer began.
After that, the EU came up with a special policy for Chinese photovoltaic companies, which roughly divides Chinese photovoltaic companies into two categories, one is within the "white list", and the photovoltaic products sold by such enterprises to the EU cannot be lower than a certain price, while limiting the annual export volume; There is also a category that is not on the "white list" and imposes high punitive tariffs on photovoltaic products exported by such enterprises.
No matter what kind of enterprise the final outcome is actually similar, "Wumart" can still guarantee but can not be "cheap". After losing its price advantage, Chinese PV companies encountered Waterloo in the European market, and their market share fell sharply, while PV companies in EU countries such as Germany became beneficiaries.
This restrictive law for Chinese photovoltaic companies was implemented from 2013 to the end of 2018, and Chinese photovoltaic companies have occupied the European and American markets again in recent years, which shows that even if the technology-leading enterprises are temporarily restricted by the non-commercial field, the gold will eventually shine, and the artificial obstacles cannot exist for a long time.
In two ways, although the law was no longer implemented in 2018, in 2019, two managers of a Chinese photovoltaic company were arrested by local customs when they participated in an exhibition in Germany. Note that at the time it was an "arrest", not an "assistance in the investigation", in other words, the German side had the relevant evidence.
The two managers of Chinese photovoltaic companies were arrested for commercial smuggling, and it is estimated that some special methods were used, such as forging the origin of photovoltaic products to evade the price limit policy that was still being implemented at that time, to put it bluntly, tax evasion.
This time is a "sequel" at that time, the German side is still investigating whether Chinese photovoltaic companies have evaded the law between 2013 and 2018, and the executive who was taken away to assist in the investigation is likely to be asked about related historical questions.
So far, except for the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, no official media has evaluated the incident, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not issued a statement, which may still be understanding the cause and effect of the matter. The PV Association's petition announcement mentions, "The China Photovoltaic Industry Association firmly protects the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese PV enterprises, and also reminds enterprises to pay attention to compliance with local laws and regulations." ”
The first half of this statement stands in the position of Chinese enterprises, showing that it firmly protects the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese photovoltaic companies, and the second half of the sentence turns sharply, reminding Chinese companies not to violate foreign laws and regulations. The Chinese style of writing tends to be the foreshadowing of the first half and the second half to focus, so the purpose of the official announcement is not only to clarify but also to remind.
As China's manufacturing industry plays an increasingly important role in the world, and some fields have even reached the level of dominating the market, Western countries will continue to introduce restrictive policies in order to protect their own enterprises.
Although we know that most of these policies are not out of fairness and justice, since we want to occupy overseas markets, we must abide by them, rather than deliberately circumvent them by playing on the sidelines. This will not only damage the image of Chinese companies, but also be seized and attacked by foreign competitors, and ultimately not only the company itself, but also the entire domestic industry.