It is said online that Chinese photovoltaic practitioners were taken away in Germany? The industry association responded late at night

According to the WeChat public account "China Photovoltaic Industry Association CPIA" on June 13, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association attached great importance to the media reports that Chinese photovoltaic practitioners were taken away for investigation when they attended the Munich International Solar Technology Expo in Germany. It is understood that the person concerned was only assisting in the investigation and has now returned to the hotel. Only one person assisted in the investigation this time, and it did not involve the multiple Chinese photovoltaic companies rumored on the Internet, and there were no multiple people assisting in the investigation.

Screenshot from WeChat public account "China Photovoltaic Industry Association CPIA"

The China Photovoltaic Industry Association firmly protects the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese photovoltaic companies, and also reminds companies to pay attention to complying with local laws and regulations. If you have any questions, please contact the local embassy or consulate or the China Photovoltaic Industry Association in a timely manner.

A domestic photovoltaic executive was taken away at Munich Airport. German police: The arrest has been suspended

According to a report by the Shanghai Securities News on the 12th, a senior executive of a domestic photovoltaic listed company witnessed another senior executive of a Chinese photovoltaic company being taken away at Munich Airport, and said that the person who was taken away was a senior executive of a photovoltaic battery module manufacturing company in Changzhou that has not yet been listed.

According to media reports, more than half of the Chinese photovoltaic professionals were on board Lufthansa flight LH0727, who were planning to attend the Intersolar Europe, which was held in Munich from June 14 to 16.

According to Yicai Global, the reporter asked the Federal Police at Munich Airport about this matter. The German police replied to Yicai Global: "This morning (local time) (around 07:30), the German Federal Police (in uniform!) arrested a person when flight LH727 from Shanghai arrived."

According to a query by the First Financial reporter, flight number LH727 departed from Shanghai Pudong Airport at 01:03 am on the 12th Beijing time and arrived at Munich Airport in Germany at 7:05 local time.

"The prosecutor's office in Augsburg, Germany, has issued a pre-trial detention order for this person," German police said. "This person was brought before a judge at the Augsburg District Court at 14:00. However, the arrest has been suspended under certain conditions."

Industry insiders: Some companies involved in the previous "double anti-dumping" need to pay back taxes

According to the WeChat public account "Shanghai Securities News", the fact that a Chinese photovoltaic company executive was taken away by German authorities at Munich Airport on the 12th caused an uproar in the industry and became a hot topic in the photovoltaic industry. The reporter further learned from the industry that the photovoltaic company executive who was most widely rumored to have been taken away has now regained his freedom, and people in the industry have contacted him through WeChat. As for the cause of this incident, an insider of the Chamber of Commerce told the Shanghai Securities News reporter that this is still a historical legacy of previous price commitments, and some companies that violated the regulations at the time need to pay back taxes.

He said that the impact of this incident should not be exaggerated. Those who are innocent will be cleared, and those who know the inside story will know what happened.

"Many of the news circulating online are not true, and they involve the previous 'double anti-dumping' incident. We hope that the outside world will not hype it up. We have also contacted this person. He has returned to the hotel and is only assisting in the investigation." A senior executive of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association told a reporter from the Shanghai Securities News in the early morning of the 13th.

Previously, there were various rumors about the reason why the executive was taken away. Some said it was due to visa issues, some said it was related to the EU's previous "anti-dumping and countervailing duty" investigation, some speculated that it was due to the leakage of some sensitive information, and some said it involved commercial fraud or other illegal activities. There was no consensus on the various statements, and it was difficult to tell the truth from the false.

However, the reporter learned from the above-mentioned chamber of commerce that this incident is still a historical legacy of previous price commitments, and some companies that violated the regulations at the time need to pay additional taxes.

After Europe and the United States launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against China's photovoltaic industry in 2012, China and the EU signed the photovoltaic minimum price commitment agreement MIP (Minimum Import Price) in December 2013. The agreement requires companies to sell solar products to Europe at a price higher than the minimum import price limit, and the annual sales volume must be limited to a certain quota; manufacturers outside the agreement must pay a 47.6% tariff.

In this regard, insiders from several leading domestic companies including GCL-Poly, Trina Solar, and LONGi all told the reporter from the Shanghai Securities News on the 12th that their companies were not implicated by the incident.

"It's no big deal, just go to bed." Lv Jinbiao, deputy director of the Expert Committee of the Silicon Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, left a message on his WeChat Moments.

He later told the Shanghai Securities News reporter that this was probably an individual case caused by the irregular operation of a few small companies, while the international trade of major domestic photovoltaic companies was very standardized, and he had not heard of any company being implicated. It is expected that this incident will not affect the subsequent export of my country's photovoltaic products to the EU.

"This is still a legacy issue of the 'double anti-dumping' before 2018. The companies involved this time are considered to be the 'fish that slipped through the net' before." Another senior person in the photovoltaic circle who has studied and worked in Germany for a long time and is familiar with the inside story told reporters that the incident currently only involves a few third- and fourth-tier small photovoltaic companies, and some friends who have arrived in Munich have reported to him that everything else is normal.