Why China’s “Overcapacity” Looks Very Different in the Global South

Graph via Financial Times

A new Financial Times article about rapid changes in Pakistan’s electricity mix highlights how the large-scale production of solar panels and batteries in China, criticized as overcapacity by G7 governments, provides Global South countries the opportunity to rapidly expand their electricity supply and decarbonize their economies.

Pakistan was – and remains – heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Surging electricity prices and shaky supply caused Pakistani households and small businesses to import large numbers of Chinese photovoltaic panels, partly because competition in the Chinese solar market drove down prices. Pakistan imported a whopping 19GW in 2024 – enough to power 13,3 million households for a year.

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by CGSP Staff

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