Cambodia’s economic highs and lows seen through Chinese solar panel industry

At its peak in 2023, Cambodia exported solar panels worth as much as US$2.4 billion, making them the country’s most significant non-textile manufacturing export. 

Yet in just two years, that boom has collapsed, with exports plummeting to only US$4.4 million in the first half of this year. 

According to Nikkei Asia, the sector’s spectacular rise and dramatic decline have been driven by the fallout of the US–China trade war.

Cambodian entrepreneur Thang Menghout, who also serves as a human resources director, is one of those still fighting to adapt. 

Faced with a stark choice between crippling tariffs of 3,403% or shutting down altogether, his factory — backed by Chinese investors Venus Energy and VCOM Power System — halted production of solar modules hit by punitive US tariffs.

Instead, the plant shifted to producing thin-film solar panels, which face an import duty of just 19%. These portable “special” panels, as they are known locally, are pricier but easier to carry, and now sit alongside clothing, footwear and luggage as Cambodia’s top export products.

“Before, we had five companies. Now we only have two left,” Menghout told Nikkei Asia. “But if tariffs rise further, we won’t be able to survive.”