Author: Chao Yi, Editor: Du Peng
Recently, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Governance of Difficulties in Payments to Small and Medium Enterprises", marking a continuous deepening of a series of related deployments. Previously, through the revision and introduction of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law" and the "Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Funds to Small and Medium Enterprises", various specific requirements for account payments were clarified. A battle to secure payments for SMEs is escalating, and it is gradually becoming a consensus across all sectors that debts must not become the straw that breaks the camel's back for SMEs.
At the regular State Council policy briefing on September 14, Ke Jixin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that while some large enterprises are engaged in fierce "price wars" with their peers, they are also "squeezing payment terms" for SMEs. They leverage their dominant market position to "play tricks and use gimmicks" to extend the payment terms for SMEs. This not only squeezes the cash flow of SMEs and affects their normal operations but also hinders the healthy development of the industry and the construction of the social credit system, obstructing the smooth circulation of the national economy. Urgent measures are needed for special rectification.
Caixin analysis suggests that squeezing payment terms essentially boils down to leveraging a dominant position for unfair competition, extending payment cycles, and defaulting on payments. It is crystal clear who benefits and who suffers. SMEs are generally in a disadvantaged position within the industrial chain and are highly vulnerable to being manipulated.
Research by the 24Chao Industry Research Institute (TTIR) reveals that following intense market competition and consolidation, resources and profits in China's lithium battery industry are indeed accelerating their concentration among oligopolies. Meanwhile, the massive and growing triangle debt across the industry, particularly among leading enterprises, is becoming the biggest challenge to the sustainable development of the lithium battery sector. If this trend remains unchecked, it could even trigger an industry-wide cash flow and debt crisis in the future.
According to our previous statistical data, the top 20 lithium battery industry giants (ranked by revenue scale) account for 68.77% of total revenue, 75.75% of net profit, 91.12% of cash generation capability (net cash flow from operating activities), 69.75% of total assets, 66.91% of R&D investment, 66.62% of funds raised, and 123.58% of net funds (cash and cash equivalents minus short-term interest-bearing debt), among others.
Additionally, research data from the 24Chao Industry Research Institute (TTIR) shows that as of the end of June 2026, the scale of accounts receivable and notes receivable for 106 listed lithium battery enterprises reached CNY 485.409 billion (a year-on-year increase of 41.16%). During the same period, the overall scale of accounts payable and notes payable reached CNY 934.929 billion (a year-on-year increase of 55.12%), which is 1.93 times the former. This indicates that listed enterprises, leveraging their dominant positions, are transferring financial pressure to small and medium lithium battery enterprises.
In terms of scale, the accounts payable and notes payable of 15 leading enterprises in the industrial chain, including CATL, EVE Energy, Sunwoda, Gotion High-tech, Huayou Cobalt, CALB, REPT BATTERO, CNGR, Ganfeng Lithium, Hunan Yuneng, Xtc New Energy Materials, Dynanonic, and Lead Intelligent, exceed CNY 10 billion each. The combined total for these 15 enterprises reaches CNY 680.235 billion, accounting for 72.76% of the overall proportion.
Our statistical data also shows that among these 15 leading enterprises, 14 have an accounts payable and notes payable turnover days (in the first half of 2026) exceeding "110 days". Among them, the cathode material leader Hunan Yuneng has the highest turnover efficiency (with a turnover of 86.20 days), while the lithium battery equipment leader Lead Intelligent has the lowest (with a turnover of 294.66 days). CATL and Gotion High-tech are nearly identical, both exceeding 260 days.
Tesla, often benchmarked by new energy enterprises, had an accounts payable turnover of only 62.76 days in the first half of 2026. Tao Lin, Vice President of External Affairs at Tesla, once publicly stated that Tesla's success relies not only on low costs but also on "symbiosis and win-win" cooperation with suppliers and continuous "technological innovation". "Cost control = technological innovation + efficient management + reducing all unnecessary expenses. Protecting the interests of suppliers does not mean raising product prices."
Many years ago, Ren Zhengfei of Huawei mentioned a strategy at the "Commendation Conference for Striving in the Operation and Delivery System", which is "dredge the riverbed deep, build the weir low". He stated that "dredge the riverbed deep, build the weir low" is a profound management philosophy left to us by Li Bing and his son over two thousand years ago. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Roman aqueducts, and bathhouses from the same era have vanished without a trace. Yet, Dujiangyan still irrigates and benefits the Chengdu Plain. Why?
"The governance principles of 'dredge the riverbed deep, build the weir low' left by Li Bing are the main 'secret' to the enduring vitality of Dujiangyan. The wisdom and principles they contain go far beyond water management itself. If Huawei is to endure, these principles are equally applicable to us. 'Dredging the riverbed deep' means continuously tapping into internal potential, reducing operational costs, and providing more valuable services to customers. Customers will never pay an extra cent for your glamorous image or high welfare benefits. For any of our aspirations, apart from achieving them through hard work, do not expect manna from heaven. Short-term, irrational welfare policies of the company are akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. 'Building the weir low' means restraining one's greed, retaining lower profits, conceding more benefits to customers, and treating upstream suppliers well. Future competition will be between entire industrial chains. The overall robustness of the industrial chain from upstream to downstream is the foundation of Huawei's survival," Ren Zhengfei said.
Wind data shows that as of the end of June 2026, Huawei's "accounts payable and notes payable" scale was CNY 120.938 billion, nearly identical to its accounts receivable and notes receivable scale (which was CNY 121.867 billion), with an accounts payable and notes payable turnover of 83.83 days.