Li Zhenguo, the billionaire founder of Chinese solar powerhouse Longi Green Energy, has stepped back from day-to-day management of the company he built into one of the world’s leading photovoltaic giants. The move, as reported by the Financial Times, reflects mounting challenges in China’s solar industry, including steep losses, overcapacity, and collapsing prices.
According to a stock exchange filing released Monday, Longi announced that 57-year-old Li has been replaced as general manager by group chair Zhong Baoshen, Li’s longtime lieutenant. While Li retains his roles as controlling shareholder and “actual controller,” he will now focus on research and development and technological innovation.
The company’s shares, listed in Shanghai, fell 3.7% on Tuesday, bringing their total decline to about 80% from their peak in late 2021.
Longi is not alone in its struggle. It is one of several major Chinese solar firms — including Jinko Solar, JA Solar, Trina Solar, Tongwei, and TCL Zhonghuan — to report consecutive quarterly losses. Research firm Morningstar recently cut its revenue and margin outlook for these companies through 2028, predicting continued financial pressure.
“The current industry capacity across polysilicon, wafer, cell, and module production is more than double the projected 2025 demand,” said Cheng Wang, a Morningstar analyst, noting that the overcapacity could last for up to three years amid sluggish demand growth.
This crisis comes despite China’s strong solar installation numbers. The country accounted for more than half of the 417 gigawatts of new global solar capacity added last year, exceeding both international expectations and Beijing’s own ambitious climate targets, according to Wood Mackenzie.
The explosive expansion in Chinese manufacturing capacity — from 198 gigawatts in 2021 to more than 1 terawatt by 2023 — has driven module prices to record lows and led to a flood of exports, sparking global accusations of market dumping and disruption.
Li Zhenguo’s strategic decisions at Longi have faced scrutiny, particularly his long-term commitment to back-contact (BC) solar cell technology, a design that relocates electrical contacts to the rear of the cell to improve efficiency. While costly and technically challenging, Li told Caijing Magazine that BC cells outperform rival technologies and projected they would capture 30% of the market by 2028 and over 50% by 2030.
“The physics principle is straightforward: front-side grid lines obstruct sunlight,” he explained, defending Longi’s eight-year push to commercialize the technology.
In addition to BC technology, Longi has also invested in large-scale green hydrogen projects, betting on solar-powered electrolysis as a clean energy solution.
Despite stepping down from operational management, Longi confirmed to the Financial Times that Li will remain “involved” with the company and that the leadership change was driven by “personal work arrangements.” His daughter, Li Shuxuan, is expected to join the board as a director during the company’s annual meeting in late June.
As of October, Li and his wife, Xiyan, were valued at $3.7 billion, placing them 179th on the Hurun Research Institute’s ranking of China’s richest individuals.
Li’s withdrawal from an active role marks a rare development in China’s tech-driven industrial landscape, where founder-led companies often persist through cyclical downturns. It signals both the seriousness of the current solar industry shakeout and a potential shift in Longi’s strategic direction as it navigates a turbulent market environment.
