CEO of the leading 70 billion photovoltaic company resigns; seeking change after ten years of first loss?

21st Century Business Herald Reporter Cao Enhui Shanghai Report

The general manager position of JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (688223.SH), a leading photovoltaic company with a market value of over 70 billion yuan, has changed.

On the evening of March 16, JinkoSolar announced that Chen Kangping resigned from his roles as general manager and related positions at subsidiaries due to work adjustments and was elected as vice chairman of the company; former CFO Cao Haiyun took over as general manager, Jiang Rui as vice general manager, and Chang Chen as CFO.

According to the announcement, after resigning as general manager, Chen Kangping will still serve as a director of the company and a member of the Strategic and Sustainable Development Committee of the board.

The 21st Century Business Herald reporter learned that Chen Kangping is one of the core founders of JinkoSolar and is the brother-in-law of Chairman Li Xiande. His work history shows that since joining JinkoSolar in 2007, Chen Kangping has served as the company’s general manager for more than ten years.

According to JinkoSolar’s response, this personnel adjustment is a normal governance and management structure upgrade and does not involve changes to the actual controller or the board of directors.

As of the announcement date, Chen Kangping held about 8.41% of JinkoSolar’s shares and, together with Li Xiande and Li Xianhua, who are acting in concert, they are the actual controllers of JinkoSolar.

The newly appointed general manager, Cao Haiyun, has extensive experience in finance and operations management. Since 2021, he has served as vice president and CFO of JinkoSolar.

Undoubtedly, the personnel change in the general manager position has attracted industry attention. On one hand, as one of the “soul figures” of JinkoSolar, Chen Kangping’s transition to vice chairman somewhat weakens his operational role; on the other hand, after experiencing its first loss in nearly a decade in 2025, JinkoSolar faces pressure to improve its operational performance this year. Will this personnel change bring new vitality?

The 21st Century Business Herald reporter noted that the current photovoltaic industry is at a cyclical bottom stage, with most PV companies under significant operational pressure and in loss.

As one of the most profitable companies in the photovoltaic module sector, JinkoSolar also faced huge losses in 2025.

According to the company’s earnings forecast, in 2025, JinkoSolar achieved a total revenue of 65.492 billion yuan, a decrease of 29.18% compared to the same period last year; and a net profit attributable to the parent company of -6.786 billion yuan, turning from profit to loss. Regarding the decline in performance, JinkoSolar stated that last year, global PV industry chain prices fluctuated more intensely, coupled with trade protection policies in overseas markets, which put overall pressure on the profitability of all segments of PV module integration.

Although the company launched new products and promoted capacity upgrades in 2025, and its energy storage business achieved rapid development, the overall PV module prices remained low, and the proportion of high-power product shipments was still relatively low. Additionally, based on prudence, the company conducted impairment tests on long-term assets showing signs of impairment, which affected performance and resulted in an overall operating loss for the year.

As of March 17, JinkoSolar’s stock price fluctuated, turning positive during the trading session, with the latest market value exceeding 78 billion yuan.