Last week, the main Chinese subsidiary of Suntech, the world's largest manufacturer of solar panels, was forced to take steps toward bankruptcy as a result of missed payments to bondholders and a debt level of approximately $1.4 billion. In recent years, the Chinese government has designated renewable energy as a strategic industry. Through a combination of government purchases and subsidies to Chinese companies, Chinese manufacturers have dramatically expanded capacity to manufacture solar panels, taking market share in China and abroad from established Western manufacturers by slashing prices.