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Labour’s pledge to decarbonize the British power system by 2030 means building more solar farms in the next five years — which in turn means leaning more on China for raw materials like polysilicon, melted down as solar panels are produced.
China controls 80 percent to 85 percent of the global solar manufacturing market, according to a 2024 report from the Ember think tank, with millions of pounds of Britain’s solar sector now reliant on Chinese manufacturing. “I would frame it as an energy security vulnerability, because you’re relying on China for the continued construction, repair and maintenance of the solar panels,” said Andrew Yeh, executive director of the China Strategic Risks Institute, a Sino-skeptic think tank.
A 2023 report from RUSI found that China has a “near monopoly” on other rare-earth minerals used in the production of other net-zero technologies, such as magnets for wind turbines and electric cars.
Technology
China’s dominance of the global economy is also based on the success of its burgeoning tech firms. Britain’s ability to stay competitive in AI and other crucial technologies will mean keeping access to global supply chains in the years to come.
While most advanced AI hardware is currently produced in Taiwan, not China, the risk that a Chinese invasion could cut off exports from the island has encouraged the U.K. and allies to search for alternatives.
In 2021 the U.K. appeared to give up the fight by selling its biggest semiconductor factory to Chinese-owned Nexperia for £65 million, despite substantial security concerns. Two years later the government sold it off again to U.S. electronics giant Vishay, after forcing Nexperia to sell its stake following months of backlash.
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