Following an earlier post of mine about the ramping up of Chinese solar production, here's an example of how this is happening.

Suntech has just announced a formal agreement to buy MSK . MSK is a Japanese company, with (according to their website) has ". . . more than 20 years in the solar business. Our multidisciplinary team of solar engineers have designed and manufactured thousands of solar systems. Our range of high-efficiency solar modules feature excellent build quality and proven performance in the field".

So in other words, Suntech is buying into a lot of intellectual property and human capital in order to position themselves at the top end of the market.