Li Wenxue, Vice President of LONGi Group
As a leading global solar technology company, LONGi has established a business model covering the whole photovoltaic industry chain, from monocrystalline silicon ingots and wafers to cells and modules, and has continuously explored the road toward green energy. When asked about the novel coronavirus pandemic, Li Wenxue, Vice President of LONGi Group, told Journal of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference that he firmly believed China’s economy to be extremely resilient and that the pandemic would not have a lasting impact on economic development.
Talking specifically about the photovoltaic industry, Li said that the pandemic would inevitably have an impact on the global market, with installations likely to drop by 10GW but, on the whole, the pandemic was still controllable, and China’s photovoltaic market was gradually overcoming its impact. LONGi was still optimistic about China’s photovoltaic market in 2020 and would not change its expectations for the whole year.
However, Li also said that the pandemic was likely to have an impact on the future structure of the industry, and was certain to intensify competition. This competition could eliminate a number of companies with poor production and operational infrastructure. In the long run, the pandemic would accelerate the process of “survival of the fittest”, and force companies to improve their risk mitigation capabilities, which would ultimately have a positive impact on the healthy and sustainable development of the industry.
In the photovoltaic industry, providing customers with the best product warranty is the core of any company’s development, especially when there is an imbalance between supply and demand, with the stability and long-term reliability of suppliers decisive factors when customers make decisions. Li told the reporter that over the years, LONGi had always maintained the ability to handle risk and cope with market changes, always giving priority to its financial health and operational strength. At the same time, LONGi’s asset-liability ratio has long remained at a low level among global photovoltaic manufacturers. In the Q1 2020 PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings report, LONGi became the first and, so far, the only module supplier to receive a AAA rating. This robustness provides the company with a protective “umbrella” in the face of the pandemic.
Although the company’s overall strength is to be envied, with the pandemic outbreak Li revealed fresh thinking: first of all, that it is necessary to speed up the intelligentization and digitization of the company, which are important for the transformation and upgrading of the photovoltaic manufacturing industry in general. The pandemic outbreak has made more photovoltaic companies realize the limitations of “human”. The pandemic will become the catalyst for the intelligentization and digitization of the photovoltaic manufacturing industry, obliging companies to accelerate intelligent production. Furthermore, in the era of mobile internet, digital marketing will gradually become a new focus for PV organisations. The pandemic will also strengthen their resolve to create a “world of green energy”, reminding clean energy companies of their mission and responsibility. As a global leading solar technology company, it will be the unshakeable commitment of LONGi to continue to actively promote energy transition and change.
Note：The article published by Journal of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on April 4, 2020