On 29 June, the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) and the China Automotive Battery Industry Innovation Alliance jointly released the ‘Initiative on Standardising Supplier Payment Practices for Power and Stationary Storage Battery Enterprises.’
The initiative is designed to tackle persistent issues in the power and stationary storage battery industry, including prolonged payment cycles, acceptance inspection delays, bill-related disputes, and slow supplier collections, while also addressing broader shortcomings in the industrial chain’s business environment.
This document represents China’s first industry-specific self-regulation on accounts payable in the lithium battery and energy storage sectors. Aligned with the national “Regulations on Ensuring Payment to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,” the initiative introduces a full-process, enforceable unified settlement standard for the industry.
It also complements existing payment regulations in the automotive manufacturing sector, creating a coordinated “vehicle–battery–material” payment governance framework across the entire value chain. This integrated approach is expected to play a vital role in stabilizing industrial and supply chains and in safeguarding the interests of small and medium-sized market participants.
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The initiative calls on enterprises to uphold the core principles of fairness, integrity, and mutual benefit, and establishes a number of firm self-discipline red lines to address common industry malpractices, covering the full spectrum of ordering, acceptance, settlement, and collaboration.
In terms of payment and settlement—the central focus—the document sets a maximum payment term of 60 calendar days for small and medium-sized suppliers, with the term starting from the date of delivery and qualified acceptance of goods. In addition, the initiative mandates a fixed monthly reconciliation mechanism. For procurement batches where final pricing has not yet been determined, companies are required to make advance payments of no less than 80% of the estimated amount, significantly easing the working capital burden on suppliers.
Since the initiative was launched, a host of leading companies across the sector have publicly pledged to fully comply. These include major players in power batteries and energy storage integration, with key cell manufacturers such as CATL, Fdbatt, CALB, EVE Energy, and Sunwoda.
CATL stated that a healthy, stable industrial chain is essential to the sector’s high-quality growth. Upholding a fair and transparent market and protecting suppliers’ legitimate rights are corporate responsibilities it takes seriously. The company will align its practices with the initiative’s principles and work with supply chain partners to build a trustworthy, compliant ecosystem rooted in mutual benefit. Its goal is to support the sustainable, high-quality development of China’s power and stationary storage battery industry through tangible action.
CALB said it will continue to follow the national regulations on ensuring payments to SMEs. It will actively respond to the initiative and apply its standards across order confirmation, delivery inspection, payment settlement, and other processes. CALB remains committed to safeguarding supplier interests and fostering a win-win industrial chain ecosystem.
Sunwoda said it would fully adopt the initiative’s guidelines across its core operations, including order confirmation, delivery acceptance, payment settlement, and contract terms. These steps are intended to protect supplier rights, provide greater business certainty, and strengthen the supply chain’s overall resilience.
