China’s annual political season that kicks off next week has always been a closely watched event for people trying to determine where national priorities will lie in the year ahead. The country’s solar manufacturing sector is one group that will be watching the event, known as the “Two Sessions,” with special attention, looking for signs of how Beijing plans to further support the sector mired in cutthroat competition that has resulted in a sea of red ink.
Adding to the anticipation this year is the expected unveiling of China’s 15th Five Year Plan, which will run from 2026 to 2030, and is expected to include specific discussion on how Beijing will tackle the solar sector’s overheated competition. The anticipation – and resulting current uncertainty surrounding a nascent rebound for the sector – were present throughout the latest earnings report released on Thursday by Daqo New Energy Corp. (DQ.US; 688303.SH), a leading solar materials supplier.
The company’s report for the final quarter of 2025 showed the sector that manufactures polysilicon, a key ingredient in solar cells, continued to stabilize at the end of last year after showing signs of bottoming out in the third quarter. Reflecting that, Daqo reported a second consecutive quarter of year-on-year revenue growth, ending a difficult period of 10 straight quarters of sharp contraction.