Chinese clean technology companies have withdrawn or scaled back around $2.8bn in planned US manufacturing investments in 2025, as tighter regulations and the rollback of Biden-era incentives accelerate a retreat from the market.
According to a report by Rhodium Group cited by Bloomberg, more than half of the Chinese clean-tech investments announced in the US since 2022 had been cancelled, delayed or paused by the end of March this year.
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The slowdown is part of a wider fall in the US clean technology sector, where total investment declined 17% last year.
This marks a change from 2023, when tax incentives introduced under former US President Joe Biden led Chinese companies to announce about $5.6bn for US projects.
After that, the administration of US President Donald Trump rolled back several of those incentives and added further restrictions through last year’s tax legislation.
Those changes created additional obstacles for manufacturers tied to so-called foreign entities of concern.
Last week, Jinko Solar agreed to sell about a 75% stake in its Florida solar panel factory to FH Capital, a private equity fund.
That deal came after comparable transactions by other Chinese solar manufacturers.
Trina Solar sold a majority stake in its Texas assembly facility in 2024, and Corning bought an Arizona plant owned by JA Solar Technology last year.
In a separate move, Shanghai-listed Ningbo Boway Alloy Material said earlier this week that it would divest US solar manufacturing assets to India’s INOXGFL Group, citing stricter foreign entity requirements under Trump’s tax bill.
Changes brought in under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have made it harder for factories owned by Chinese companies, or reliant on supply chains dominated by China, to qualify for manufacturing tax credits.
The main purpose of the stake sale is “to optimise its overseas asset allocation, ensure its long-term strategic layout in the US, enhance flexibility and compliance, and facilitate its long-term development,” a Jinko spokesperson told the publication.
The effect of lower incentives and tighter foreign entity rules has reversed the increase in Chinese clean-tech investment recorded in 2023, with project cancellations and divestments now outpacing new investment announcements across the sector.
