They are getting a boost from China's efforts to curb environmental damage after two decades of breakneck growth that have left it with some of the world's most badly polluted air and water. Chinese leaders also are promoting renewable energy in hopes of reducing mounting dependence on imported oil, which they see as a strategic weakness.

"The technological prowess of China is growing a lot faster than people in the West reckon," said Andrew Wilkinson, co-manager of a fund at investment bank CLSA Emerging Markets that invests in Asian clean-energy industries.

Suntech's 3,500-strong work force at four sites in China produces photovoltaic cells, the delicate, hand-size black silicon panels that can transform sunlight into electricity.

At a time when China's leaders are trying to turn lumbering state companies into nimble global competitors, Suntech already goes head-to-head with Japanese and European rivals in foreign markets. Shi says all its technology comes from its own labs.

By last year, Suntech had risen to be the world's fourth-largest solar cell maker, according to an annual ranking by Photon International, an industry magazine. Japan's Sharp Corp. is the market leader and other competitors include Q-Cells AG of Germany, Kyocera Corp. of Japan and BP Solar, owned by British oil company BP PLC.

Worldwide, experts expect the industry's sales to grow by 20 percent to 40 percent annually in coming years.

Suntech's key markets are Germany, Japan and Spain, which subsidize renewable energy by requiring utilities to buy solar-generated power and to pay more for it than they would for electricity from oil or gas.

China accounted for just 10 percent of Suntech's 2006 sales of $599 million. The equipment is expensive enough that its use in the company's home market is limited to lighthouses, remote military posts and other sites far from power plants.

But Shi says the Chinese, US and other markets will grow quickly as governments respond to concern about global warming by rolling out clean-energy initiatives. Beijing has ordered Chinese utilities to generate at least 10 percent of their power from solar, wind, hydroelectric and other renewable sources by 2010, with the target rising after that.

Despite his science background, Shi talks like a tough-minded businessman, and people in the industry say he is an able entrepreneur who moves between East and West and the worlds of technology and finance. He shifts easily between English and Chinese, and broke off twice during a 30-minute interview to take rapid-fire calls on his cell phone, first in the Shanghainese dialect, then in Mandarin.

"He comes across as a strong CEO who has a strong vision for his company and the future of his industry," said David Edwards, an industry analyst for ThinkEquity Partners in San Francisco.

Shi is part of a generation who left China by the tens of thousands in the drab 1980s to study or work. They're now trickling back, lured by its booming economy's new opportunities.

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