China’s clean-energy stocks closing gap with global peers as renewables surge

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Shares in China’s clean-energy companies, driven by policy tailwinds, show signs of catching up with a global rally that has lifted renewable equities into the ranks of this year’s top trades.

The Hang Seng Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Clean Energy Index rose about 30 per cent over the past six months, in line with the broader China market. The S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index has jumped nearly 50 per cent over the same span, compared with 35 per cent gains in both the S&P 500 index and the price of gold.

Most of the gains in the Hang Seng clean-energy gauge came in the past month amid a nationwide “anti-involution” campaign and support policies unveiled for energy storage. The anti-involution effort, launched by Beijing in July 2024 and intensified from mid-2025, aims to curb irrational price competition and oversupply in the solar sector.

Analysts said the policy moves had improved confidence in the sector’s longer-term profitability and narrowed the gap with global peers. The trend has prompted upgrades in price targets for several leading companies.

Moody’s said in a September note that the campaign, if effectively implemented, could “restore corporate margins, improve fiscal sustainability and capital allocation and enhance the quality of growth”. The agency cited early signs of price stabilisation in solar panels and batteries, adding that more disciplined competition and production controls could support margin recovery and deleveraging across affected industries.

China’s energy-storage system prices could edge up in the second half of the year on the back of higher battery-cell costs, said Citi’s equity strategist Pierre Lau in an October note, placing a buy rating on major makers including Sungrow and Deye.