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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":753,"relatedVideos":754},112470316533596,"ff429a86-59ba-4c74-bf07-ac9b1471d3bf","OPINION: Chinese companies should be careful about exploiting loopholes in Western policy","opinion-chinese-companies-should-be-careful-about-exploiting-loopholes-in-western-policy","article/opinion-chinese-companies-should-be-careful-about-exploiting-loopholes-in-western-policy",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":559,"content":569,"excerpt":728,"featured":50,"reporter":729,"_editable":733,"component":734,"seo_title":543,"categories":735,"visibility":742,"author_company":743,"featured_image":744,"seo_description":728,"author_full_name":749,"author_job_title":750,"formattedDate":751,"formattedArticleDate":752},"ea430165-ed22-4c49-a769-7b8a22889732","2023-12-08 00:00",[550,553,556],{"slug":551,"name":552},"china","China",{"slug":554,"name":555},"opinion","Opinion",{"slug":557,"name":558},"usa","USA",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":563},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":564,"image":565,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":566},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,579,584,599,604,609,621,626,631,638,643,648,653,658,663,668,673,678,683,688,693,698,703,708,713,718,723],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":578},"Having dominated the global battery supply chain, Chinese companies now face two twin challenges: a life-and-death struggle at home amid overcapacity and low prices, and a growing thicket of regulations overseas designed to keep them out of US and European markets. ","text",{"type":573,"attrs":580,"content":581},{"textAlign":49},[582],{"text":583,"type":578},"Over the past few years, Chinese battery, cathode, anode and other companies have rapidly expanded production, competing against each other fiercely for market share. ",{"type":573,"attrs":585,"content":586},{"textAlign":49},[587,589,597],{"text":588,"type":578},"This year, cathode prices have fallen by 57%, according to ",{"text":590,"type":578,"marks":591},"Benchmark’s Cathode Price Index",[592],{"type":593,"attrs":594},"link",{"href":595,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":596},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/portal/","url",{"text":598,"type":578},". The projected surplus of cathode production in China by the end of the decade is enough to meet the forecast deficit in both the European Union and the US. ",{"type":573,"attrs":600,"content":601},{"textAlign":49},[602],{"text":603,"type":578},"Benchmark also forecasts that China will produce 1.3 TWh more batteries than is needed to meet its domestic demand in 2030 – the only country to produce a surplus of cells.",{"type":573,"attrs":605,"content":606},{"textAlign":49},[607],{"text":608,"type":578},"Xu Kaihua, chairman of Chinese battery materials company GEM, recently talked about how the price war in China will lead to a clearing out of weaker companies. ",{"type":573,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612,614,619],{"text":613,"type":578},"But he also talked about how damaging it is for the entire industry. Overinvestment in production has led to “involution” in the Chinese battery supply chain industry, he said, using a popular phrase, ",{"text":615,"type":578,"marks":616},"neijuan",[617],{"type":618},"italic",{"text":620,"type":578},", which refers to the practice of investing ever more for less return. ",{"type":573,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624],{"text":625,"type":578},"Building enough production capacity to supply 2030 demand and beyond reduces current utilisation rates, leading to a lower market value for companies, he said. That in turn reduces their ability to raise capital. ",{"type":573,"attrs":627,"content":628},{"textAlign":49},[629],{"text":630,"type":578},"To Xu, the companies who will survive will be those who have successfully moved into overseas markets, which will become the “main battleground.” ",{"type":632,"attrs":633,"content":635},"heading",{"level":634,"textAlign":49},4,[636],{"text":637,"type":578},"A less welcoming world",{"type":573,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"textAlign":49},[641],{"text":642,"type":578},"Yet the world is becoming increasingly hostile to Chinese companies. Policies both in the European Union and the US are designed to keep them out. ",{"type":573,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646],{"text":647,"type":578},"Last week the US proposed a rule that would potentially bar Chinese companies from providing critical minerals to the US automotive market, if they own more than 25% of any company in the supply chain. In addition, any company producing materials within China – regardless of ownership – is also disqualified. ",{"type":573,"attrs":649,"content":650},{"textAlign":49},[651],{"text":652,"type":578},"The European Union has not only launched a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which could be extended beyond steel and aluminium in the future, but also a Battery Regulation that requires strict sustainability standards for imported batteries. ",{"type":573,"attrs":654,"content":655},{"textAlign":49},[656],{"text":657,"type":578},"In addition, its Critical Raw Materials Act says that no more than 65% of the bloc’s supply of critical minerals can come from any one third country.",{"type":632,"attrs":659,"content":660},{"level":634,"textAlign":49},[661],{"text":662,"type":578},"The necessity of China",{"type":573,"attrs":664,"content":665},{"textAlign":49},[666],{"text":667,"type":578},"The reality is that despite the political rhetoric in the short to medium-term there are simply not enough homegrown alternatives to Chinese companies with the technical skills and capabilities to meet automotive demand. ",{"type":573,"attrs":669,"content":670},{"textAlign":49},[671],{"text":672,"type":578},"China produces almost all the world’s graphite used in batteries, and dominates nickel production in Indonesia, for example. Even with all the subsidies and protection on offer, Western companies cannot scale up fast enough.",{"type":573,"attrs":674,"content":675},{"textAlign":49},[676],{"text":677,"type":578},"In addition, as automakers focus all-out on reducing costs, the Chinese supply chain is the only way to make EVs successful. ",{"type":573,"attrs":679,"content":680},{"textAlign":49},[681],{"text":682,"type":578},"That means that loopholes will be found.",{"type":573,"attrs":684,"content":685},{"textAlign":49},[686],{"text":687,"type":578},"Still, that doesn’t mean that Chinese companies should rush to exploit them, as they have done with US import tariffs and regulations in previous years. A few years ago one Chinese aluminium company, Zhongwang, built a huge stockpile of metal in Mexico, in order to evade US import tariffs. Others relied on shipping products to South East Asia first. ",{"type":573,"attrs":689,"content":690},{"textAlign":49},[691],{"text":692,"type":578},"There will likely be a small handful of international Chinese companies, who will manage to enter the US and European markets, via various means. GEM has already offered to adjust its equity ownership in its South Korean battery materials project in order to meet US requirements, for example. ",{"type":573,"attrs":694,"content":695},{"textAlign":49},[696],{"text":697,"type":578},"The route to overseas markets for Chinese companies will likely still be rocky, as they navigate overseas labour relations, permitting, and the increasingly hostile policies. LGES is importing some 900 workers from South Korea for its battery plant in Canada, but it’s unlikely any Chinese company would be able to do the same thing. ",{"type":573,"attrs":699,"content":700},{"textAlign":49},[701],{"text":702,"type":578},"But Chinese companies should also be careful. A backlash against Chinese companies who do manage to benefit from taxpayer subsidies could also set back progress in the fight against climate change. Especially with a US election approaching.",{"type":573,"attrs":704,"content":705},{"textAlign":49},[706],{"text":707,"type":578},"In reducing the benefits that Western companies can gain from the energy transition in terms of jobs, skills and investment, it will only reduce support for climate friendly policies. ",{"type":573,"attrs":709,"content":710},{"textAlign":49},[711],{"text":712,"type":578},"In the end, that would also hurt China.",{"type":573,"attrs":714,"content":715},{"textAlign":49},[716],{"text":717,"type":578},"China should avoid exporting its model of brutal competition to overseas countries, and think carefully before investing in new projects. Partnerships with Western companies should be done properly. ",{"type":573,"attrs":719,"content":720},{"textAlign":49},[721],{"text":722,"type":578},"China has helped lower the costs for batteries and their materials, helping hugely to make the transition to electric vehicles viable. ",{"type":573,"attrs":724,"content":725},{"textAlign":49},[726],{"text":727,"type":578},"But as they eye up ways to get around new regulations they should bear in mind that decimating all competition by lowering prices beyond a point where it is profitable won’t lead to a growing global market left entirely to China. It will lead to a slower energy transition.","Having dominated the global battery supply chain, Chinese companies now face two twin challenges: a life-and-death struggle at home amid overcapacity and low prices, and a growing thicket of regulations overseas designed to keep them out of US and European markets. Over the past few years, Chinese battery, cathode, anode and other companies have rapidly […]",[730],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":731},{"job_title":564,"image":732,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},{"filename":566},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ea430165-ed22-4c49-a769-7b8a22889732\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[736,739],{"slug":737,"name":738},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":740,"name":741},"geopolitics","Geopolitics","private","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",{"id":49,"alt":745,"name":745,"focus":745,"title":745,"source":745,"filename":746,"copyright":745,"fieldtype":747,"meta_data":748,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/18fd236b19/bm-china-ev-charger.jpg","asset",{"alt":745,"title":745,"source":745,"copyright":745},"Henry Sanderson","Executive Editor","Dec 08, 2023","8th December 2023",[],[],1783529652726]