Publisher:
China Africa Research Initiative (CARI), School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC
Abstract:
This paper explores the different modes of involvement of Chinese companies in South Africa's solar photovoltaic and wind energy sectors. It also looks at how the differentiated technological and industrial trajectories of Chinese companies are interacting with South Africa's unique national context. It reveals complex interactions between evolving market dynamics, and international and domestic factors in both China and South Africa. Such dynamics include the highly globalized nature of production chains in wind and solar PV, accompanied by increasingly consolidated markets, and ongoing trade disputes between Chinese, and EU and US solar PV manufacturing companies.