{"text":[[{"start":8.45,"text":"A Chinese wind turbine maker has accused the UK of “politicisation” in its decision to ban its products from being used in the country and warned that the setback would not stop the company’s expansion plans in Europe."}],[{"start":20.7,"text":"The UK government ruled last month that Ming Yang Smart Energy, one of the world’s largest wind turbine makers, could not deploy its products in offshore projects in the country, citing national security concerns."}],[{"start":32.75,"text":"The company had laid out plans in October to invest £1.5bn in manufacturing turbine blades and other parts in the Scottish Highlands."}],[{"start":41.45,"text":"Ming Yang chair Zhang Chuanwei said in an interview this week that the UK’s “politicisation” of the investment would not only harm Ming Yang but also “greatly undermine the sense of security Chinese companies feel when entering the British market”."}],[{"start":56.5,"text":"The UK was “taking a simple, straightforward commercial company that is listed on the London Stock Exchange and labelling it as a matter of national security”, he said. Ming Yang is listed in Shanghai and trades global depositary receipts in London."}],[{"start":71.8,"text":"The UK had signalled during Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s January visit to China that the project could soon proceed, he added."}],[{"start":79.5,"text":"“You have no standards, no norms, no rules, and you don’t offer solutions . . . this doesn’t conform to the practices of a market economy,” Zhang said."}],[{"start":88.75,"text":"He added that he and other Ming Yang executives had spoken to the UK’s energy ministry this month, but the government declined to explain what made its products a national security threat."}],[{"start":99.3,"text":"A UK government spokesperson said: “We do not recognise these claims. After careful consideration the government has concluded that there are national security risks associated with the use of Ming Yang wind turbines in UK offshore wind projects.”"}],[{"start":115.5,"text":"One official said the government would welcome investment from China where it was in Britain’s national interest. "}],[{"start":121.85,"text":"Ming Yang was the world’s fourth-largest wind turbine maker by installations in 2024, according to BloombergNEF, and employs more than 25,000 people globally."}],[{"start":132.6,"text":"In recent years, Chinese companies have come to dominate the market for wind energy equipment thanks to rapid domestic deployment of powerful low-cost turbines."}],[{"start":141.65,"text":"But their overseas investment plans have run into steeper hurdles than companies in other clean energy sectors, such as electric vehicles and solar power, said Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, a think-tank."}],[{"start":154.45000000000002,"text":"Regulators are partly concerned about connecting Chinese-made wind turbines, which are more technologically sophisticated than other clean tech products such as solar modules, to national power grids, he said. But geopolitical concerns and the desire to protect domestic industries have also played a part."}],[{"start":171.9,"text":"“One way you can compete is to not allow them to come into the market and that is what Europe and the UK are doing,” he said. “When you go up against China speed, China scale and China’s lack of interest in near-term profitability, you lose.”"}],[{"start":187.1,"text":"Zhang said he was hopeful the UK would ultimately “return to rationality” and that Ming Yang would be able to resolve its issues with London."}],[{"start":194.9,"text":"But the setback would not impede its plans to expand in the “huge” European market, he added."}],[{"start":201.25,"text":"“We Chinese say: ‘When it isn’t bright in the east, it will be in the west,’” he said, using a Chinese idiom roughly meaning when one door closes, another opens. “With such a significant business plan, we certainly won’t hang everything on one tree.”"}],[{"start":216.45,"text":"He said Ming Yang was searching for locations for a European factory and hoped to finalise plans in the first half of this year. Spain was a “very important . . . attractive market”, he said, though he added that other countries were also under consideration."}],[{"start":231.5,"text":"“I want to make it clear that we won’t let this arrangement from the UK affect our European strategy,” he said."}],[{"start":247.60000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777460684_5719.mp3"}