CHANGZHOU, China — In other tech revolutions of recent decades, Silicon Valley became the uncontested global leader. The region's ability to innovate its way to the top in cleantech, though, is far from guaranteed. Competition is fierce and global, with trillions of dollars at stake.
One of the valley's greatest challenges comes from here. China's drive to be a dominant power in the emerging global cleantech industry was on display one recent morning on the campus of the nation's third-largest solar-panel maker, Trina Solar.