File photo: VCG

Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers are actively exploring overseas markets despite disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, which they said had some negative impact on overseas orders but was not overly serious.

Li Zhenguo, founder of Xi'an-based solar technology company LONGi Green Energy Technology Co, said that the negative impact from the pandemic on China's photovoltaic industry is "milder than market expectations." 

"China's photovoltaic (PV) industry is evidently turning for the better recently, with domestic demand rising, but demand from overseas was not dropping as badly as some people thought," he told the Global Times on Saturday during the SNEC PV Power Expo. 

According to Li, overseas PV industries respond differently to the pandemic indifferent countries. LONGi's business orders in Europe were almost unaffected by the pandemic, while markets in the US and India have dropped to some extent, but have started to recover now. 

Despite certain levels of disruptions from the pandemic, LONGi is still active in exploring overseas markets. For example, it is currently appraising the chances of constructing solar cells and modules in a land plot it bought in India several years ago. 

"We are actively evaluating the policy environment and production factors in a number of global markets currently," Li said. 

Besides LONGi, some other Chinese industry giants are also actively exploring overseas markets amid the pandemic. For example, Shanghai Electric has won the bidding of a photovoltaic power station project in Dubai in July, according to media reports. 

Li also stressed the chances of LONGi's overseas business being hit by political complications such as the China-US tradefriction is relatively small. 

"What we areperforming is an industry that is intended to improve the living environment of humans. If an overseas country restricts this industry, it would delay their sustainable and green development, which they most likely wouldn't want to see," Li said.

China exported about $20 billion worth of PV products in 2019, up by 29 percent on a yearly basis, according to statistics fromchyxx.com. In the first five months this year, China exported about $7.87 billion worth of PV products, down 10.1 percent on a yearly basis, data from the China Photovolataic Industry Association shows. 

A sales manager at the photovoltaic material manufacturer GCL told the Global Times during the PV expo that China's PV technologies lead the world currently. "Many of the world's essential PV technologies are developed in China," he said, adding that policy stress on environmental protection has also boosted domestic demand for PV products in recent years.