Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) — The service life of a standard photovoltaic cable is usually 15 years. However, in western China’s Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, such a cable lasted only eight years due to harsh weather conditions such as sudden temperature changes and intense ultraviolet radiation.
The question of how to extend the service life of photovoltaic cables under such conditions was pressing. Ounaite Cable Group Co., Ltd., a private cable manufacturer in Qinghai Province, Northwest China, developed its own solutions in the form of soybean and rapeseed oils, which are considered useful in changing the properties of cables.
The company decided to use a plasticizer derived from soybean and rapeseed oil in the production process of photovoltaic cables, which allowed them to be more flexible. It also used nanocoatings to increase the service life of the cable jackets.
Thanks to years of innovative efforts, the company’s photovoltaic cables remain flexible at temperatures down to minus 40 degrees Celsius, and also withstand corrosion and intense ultraviolet radiation in high-altitude conditions.
To date, Ounaite Cable has obtained more than 130 patents in this field, including 15 patents with independent property rights. With about 10% of the domestic market share in the photovoltaic power transmission and engineering systems sector, the company has also successfully entered the global market.
“Strengthening independent innovation is the key to our transition from a follower to a leader,” said Yang Zhentao, chairman of Ounaite Cable, noting that the company’s annual output of photovoltaic cables currently reaches 120,000 km – enough to circle the Earth three times.
The company continued to expand steadily in 2025, with orders up 45 percent year-on-year in the first five months, Yang Zhentao said, adding that the company aims to reach 20 billion yuan (about $2.8 billion) in production volume by next year, as construction on a new 100 million yuan investment project began in June.
Ounaite Cable’s rise from a micro-firm to a national high-tech enterprise and a member of China’s “little giants” is not an isolated case. “Little giants” are the elite of small and medium-sized enterprises that specialize in a specific market niche, possess advanced technology, and demonstrate great potential.
Hainan Huayan Collagen Technology Co., Ltd., another national high-tech enterprise located in Hainan Province, South China, has successfully developed a new product from fish collagen peptide, filling the gap in the global market of cyclic dipeptides derived from fish.
According to Zhao Zifang, head of the company’s research and development center, this result was achieved after the research team spent more than two years conducting nearly 3,000 experiments.
The company has put into operation two production lines, resulting in an annual output of 4,500 tons of fish collagen peptides, and these products are exported to more than 50 countries and regions.
The rise of innovation-driven private companies is injecting new vitality into China’s economy.
According to official data from the State Administration for Market Regulation, by the end of March 2025, the number of private enterprises in China exceeded 57 million, accounting for 92.3 percent of all enterprises nationwide.
In the first quarter of this year, 1.979 million private firms were created, which is 7.1 percent more year-on-year and exceeds the average growth recorded over the past three years.
This rapid expansion of the private sector has been made possible by the Chinese authorities’ increased efforts to support private companies in recent years.
In the latest move to boost scientific research and industrial innovation, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSF) on Monday launched the Joint Fund for Innovation and Development of Private Enterprises, aimed at allowing private companies to formally participate in national basic research.
Under the fund, private enterprises will identify critical research challenges based on their specific innovation needs, and the joint fund will sponsor leading researchers across the country to address those challenges.
Analysts say the approach, designed to promote deep integration of technological and industrial innovation, is expected to boost innovation in the private sector and give new impetus to China’s innovation-driven development strategy. -0-