* First Solar, China Power Intl ink strategic cooperation agreement
* To collaborate on solar photovoltaic projects in China
* To explore project investment opportunities in U.S. and other countries (Adds details, First Solar's comment on China solar policy)
By Ken Wills and Wan Xu
BEIJING, May 10 (Reuters) - First Solar, Inc , and China Power International New Energy Holding Ltd (CPINE), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Power New Energy Development Co Ltd (CPNE) , have agreed to collaborate on solar photovoltaic projects in China, the United States and other international markets, the two companies said in a statement on Tuesday.
First Solar and CPINE will initially explore collaboration on solar photovoltaic projects in China, and will identify investment opportunities for CPINE in the United States and other global markets.
The two companies signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Beijing on Tuesday, paving the way for cooperation in the near future.
"This cooperation leverages our advantages in the domestic solar power industry, and helps First Solar further expand its business presence in China," Li Xiaolin, chairwoman of China Power International, CPNE and CPINE, said in the statement
"In addition, we are happy to explore other cooperation opportunities in different areas and through different methods with First Solar, working together to further expand in the global market," Li said.
CPINE is a subsidiary of China Power International Holding Ltd, the main listed arm of China Power Investment Corp, one of China's five major state-owned power producers.
"This agreement can serve as a model for U.S.-China collaboration on renewable energy," TK Kallenbach, President of First Solar's Components Business Group, was quoted as saying.
Arizona-based First Solar, which makes the world's lowest cost thin-film solar modules, is the largest solar company by market value.
First Solar and CPINE are still in discussion to finalise solar projects to cooperate in China and overseas, with no timeline set yet, China Representative of First Solar Kevin Berkemeyer said at a press briefing in Beijing.
First Solar is currently developing another giant solar project in Ordos of Inner Mongolia with China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Company. It plans to install 30 megawatts of solar power generation capacity in the first phase, and will eventually expand to 2 gigawatts capacity by 2020.
The new partnership with CPINE was the next step First Solar took to diversify their relationships within China to get a broader set of opportunities, Kallenbach said.
However, China's power policy is a concern for foreign power companies who invest in China.
"China's solar power is still under development. I think the concessionary bidding economics are extremely challenging. The concessionary bidding process doesn't give you the kind of long-term visibility that you would like, so both of these are challenges," Kallenbach said.
(Reporting by Wan Xu and Ken Wills)