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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":947,"relatedVideos":948},163720278676758,"746036af-b9fc-4d0d-b721-56d0d1094635","Supply chain dominance: China Regional Spotlight","regional-spotlight-china","article/regional-spotlight-china",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":565,"content":575,"excerpt":878,"featured":51,"reporter":879,"component":892,"seo_title":543,"categories":893,"visibility":934,"data_vis_image":935,"featured_image":940,"seo_description":944,"formattedDate":945,"formattedArticleDate":946},"30d39872-4c5a-4ece-9cff-c104527f47f4","2026-04-08 00:00",[550,553,556,559,562],{"slug":551,"name":552},"china","China",{"slug":554,"name":555},"catl","CATL",{"slug":557,"name":558},"byd","BYD",{"slug":560,"name":561},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",{"slug":563,"name":564},"regional-spotlight","Regional Spotlight",[566],{"slug":567,"name":568,"content":569},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":570,"image":571,"bio":573,"linkedin":574},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":572},"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":576,"content":577},"doc",[578,606,611,625,630,641,648,657,662,676,681,695,709,714,731,741,746,751,758,763,768,782,787,792,797,803,809,815,820,825,830,836,850,855,871],{"type":579,"attrs":580,"content":581},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[582,585,595,597,604],{"text":583,"type":584},"It is difficult to overstate China’s role in the battery supply chain. It is the world’s largest producer of batteries, whether for ","text",{"text":586,"type":584,"marks":587},"electric vehicles",[588],{"type":589,"attrs":590},"link",{"href":591,"uuid":592,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/global-ev-sales-reached-1-1-million-units-in-february-2026","c67ac4c5-ec20-418f-8ffb-364460a1918c","_blank","story",{"text":596,"type":584}," (EVs) or ",{"text":598,"type":584,"marks":599},"battery energy stationary storage",[600],{"type":589,"attrs":601},{"href":602,"uuid":603,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/global-bess-installments-increase-29-y-o-y","97c1dbbb-810f-4732-bbc5-3300ed5257d0",{"text":605,"type":584}," (BESS). It is the world’s largest single miner of lithium and natural graphite – it is also, in both cases, the largest supplier of refined product – and the largest provider of needle coke and synthetic graphite. In rare earths, it controls over 90% of global refining capacity.",{"type":579,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609],{"text":610,"type":584},"It is China’s outsized role in these supply chains that makes it so vital to have on-the-ground intelligence from the country. Benchmark’s China-based analysts take part in regular site visits, conferences and research trips to develop the direct insight that informs its services and Benchmark Intelligence.",{"type":579,"attrs":612,"content":613},{"textAlign":49},[614,616,623],{"text":615,"type":584},"In the short term, its largest companies, including most of ",{"text":617,"type":584,"marks":618},"the world’s major battery suppliers like CATL and BYD",[619],{"type":589,"attrs":620},{"href":621,"uuid":622,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/us-ev-demand-shift-and-bess-growth-who-deployed-the-most-batteries-in-2025-","efc32e74-520d-4632-b92b-53006fecdeef",{"text":624,"type":584},", are seeing boosts to their stock as oil and gas price rises driven by geopolitical instability focus minds on energy security.",{"type":579,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":584},"In the long term, China’s stranglehold on so many dimensions of the energy transition has sparked efforts by the US, EU and others to diversify production elsewhere. Even where it does not have domestic capacity, as in the case of cobalt mining, Chinese firms often have ownership of significant slices of the supply chain. China has recently exerted its considerable leverage in a range of sectors by imposing export controls, including on rare earths and cathode manufacturing tech, as it did in response to US tariffs in 2025.",{"type":631,"attrs":632},"blok",{"id":633,"body":634},"035e99ff-885f-4d32-85f6-0246d48a7400",[635],{"id":636,"_uid":637,"type":638,"component":639,"fixed_height":640,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":640,"fixed_height_tablet":640},"28334681","i-cf264017-8566-448b-ab03-009d0cc6f825","visualisation","ContentFlourish","",{"type":642,"attrs":643,"content":645},"heading",{"level":644,"textAlign":49},2,[646],{"text":647,"type":584},"Key policies",{"type":642,"attrs":649,"content":651},{"level":650,"textAlign":49},3,[652],{"text":653,"type":584,"marks":654},"Export controls",[655],{"type":656},"bold",{"type":579,"attrs":658,"content":659},{"textAlign":49},[660],{"text":661,"type":584},"China’s range of export controls, expanded in 2025 as its latest trade war with the US unfolded, have allowed it to squeeze supply chains of rare earths.",{"type":579,"attrs":663,"content":664},{"textAlign":49},[665,667,674],{"text":666,"type":584},"After the announcement in April 2025 of US President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariff regime, China implemented new export controls on medium and heavy rare earths. Then, in October, it announced an expansion of controls that were ",{"text":668,"type":584,"marks":669},"later suspended following discussions with the US",[670],{"type":589,"attrs":671},{"href":672,"uuid":673,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/china-delays-rare-earth-export-controls-after-us-china-trade-talks","2ae4712d-a83a-477f-a268-79712ec75def",{"text":675,"type":584},". That suspension is currently set to expire on 10 November 2026.",{"type":579,"attrs":677,"content":678},{"textAlign":49},[679],{"text":680,"type":584},"A range of rare earths remains on the export controls list. These include scandium, samarium, gadolinium, lutetium, yttrium, dysprosium, and terbium, which have defence applications. While monthly numbers can be volatile, there was a 22.5% fall in year-on-year exports of rare earths to the US in January and February.",{"type":579,"attrs":682,"content":683},{"textAlign":49},[684,686,693],{"text":685,"type":584},"Exports to Japan of dysprosium and terbium oxide, meanwhile, have fallen to zero as China has implemented tougher controls on the export to Japan of ",{"text":687,"type":584,"marks":688},"seven rare earths and any products that contain them",[689],{"type":589,"attrs":690},{"href":691,"uuid":692,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/what-are-the-implications-of-chinas-latest-rare-earth-export-restrictions-on-japan","9ddd3f7e-bf73-4e2a-a28b-7311cc5fcf20",{"text":694,"type":584},". As noted in Benchmark’s Rare Earth Service, Japan has no domestic production of these rare earths of its own, giving China considerable leverage over its supply.",{"type":579,"attrs":696,"content":697},{"textAlign":49},[698,700,707],{"text":699,"type":584},"It isn’t only raw materials that are affected. In 2025, China also placed ",{"text":701,"type":584,"marks":702},"export controls on technology",[703],{"type":589,"attrs":704},{"href":705,"uuid":706,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/china-implements-export-restrictions-on-cathode-and-lithium-production-technologies","2900e59e-d077-47e8-ae89-dd1ab6bf7b3a",{"text":708,"type":584}," used in the production of advanced forms of LFP and LMFP cathode, as well as in direct lithium extraction (DLE). Significantly, it was not the export of the cathode itself that was hit with restrictions, but the technology itself – frontier technology used in the development of the most advanced, fourth-generation cathode materials.",{"type":579,"attrs":710,"content":711},{"textAlign":49},[712],{"text":713,"type":584},"This has been seen as a dual strategy by China’s government both to stimulate exports of cathode, where the economy has overcapacity, and to protect Chinese advanced technology and intellectual property. Self-reliance in advanced tech is among the core priorities of China’s next five-year plan.",{"type":642,"attrs":715,"content":716},{"level":650,"textAlign":49},[717,721,727],{"text":718,"type":584,"marks":719},"The 15",[720],{"type":656},{"text":722,"type":584,"marks":723},"th",[724,725],{"type":656},{"type":726},"superscript",{"text":728,"type":584,"marks":729}," Five-Year Plan",[730],{"type":656},{"type":579,"attrs":732,"content":733},{"textAlign":49},[734,736,739],{"text":735,"type":584},"The Chinese government’s 15",{"text":722,"type":584,"marks":737},[738],{"type":726},{"text":740,"type":584}," Five-Year Plan was approved by the National People’s Congress during the March 2026 Two Sessions, following the release in September 2025 of the ‘Technology Roadmap for New-Type Energy Storage (2025–2035)’. That document outlined targets that have remained mostly unchanged in the full ‘Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan’, published following the CCP’s ‘two sessions’ annual meeting.",{"type":579,"attrs":742,"content":743},{"textAlign":49},[744],{"text":745,"type":584},"The roadmap sets out the country’s planned pace of installation in energy storage, with a total installed new-type energy storage capacity of 180GW targeted by 2027 and 240GW by 2035. This number includes battery energy storage systems (BESS). Under the previous plan, an energy storage installation target of 30GW was far exceeded in practice, with installed capacity for the 2021-25 period passing 150GW.",{"type":579,"attrs":747,"content":748},{"textAlign":49},[749],{"text":750,"type":584},"Calvin Xu, a BESS analyst at Benchmark, says “the target of 240GW is not too ambitious based on the performance through to 2025, when the actual BESS installation capacity reached five times the original target”.",{"type":642,"attrs":752,"content":753},{"level":650,"textAlign":49},[754],{"text":755,"type":584,"marks":756},"EV policy changes",[757],{"type":656},{"type":579,"attrs":759,"content":760},{"textAlign":49},[761],{"text":762,"type":584},"In 2025, the Chinese government announced a range of new measures aimed at driving the electric vehicle (EV) market towards greater efficiency and avoiding a race to the bottom on prices. These ‘anti-involution’ changes include an end to full exemptions from purchase tax for new energy vehicles (NEVs), with the introduction of a new 5% levy.",{"type":579,"attrs":764,"content":765},{"textAlign":49},[766],{"text":767,"type":584},"While this is still below the 10% levied on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, it remains a significant change – particularly when paired with another recent change to state support for EV consumption, the alteration of China’s EV trade-in subsidy. This no longer guarantees a flat subsidy of RMB 20,000 (US$2,900), but rather a 12% subsidy on the value of a vehicle up to a cap of RMB 20,000.",{"type":579,"attrs":769,"content":770},{"textAlign":49},[771,773,780],{"text":772,"type":584},"In practice, ",{"text":774,"type":584,"marks":775},"as recently noted by Benchmark",[776],{"type":589,"attrs":777},{"href":778,"uuid":779,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/weakened-fiscal-support-impacts-china-s-ev-market","bb986c7d-3f1c-4405-8646-4bfd1affc910",{"text":781,"type":584},", this means that low- and medium-priced vehicles in China can cost as much as twice what they did before the changes. It remains to be seen whether these measures, which aim to avoid extreme price competition and increase OEMs’ focus on quality, will have implications for EV makers’ export markets.",{"type":579,"attrs":783,"content":784},{"textAlign":49},[785],{"text":786,"type":584},"Within China, the full package of changes means we expect growth of 8.7% across all vehicle classes in 2026. Beyond it, a number of Chinese automakers have set explicit 2026 overseas sales targets, and exports are expected to be a key point of competition in the sector this year, though an increasing number are establishing ex-China production sites.",{"type":642,"attrs":788,"content":789},{"level":644,"textAlign":49},[790],{"text":791,"type":584},"China in numbers",{"type":579,"attrs":793,"content":794},{"textAlign":49},[795],{"text":796,"type":584},"China’s upstream dominance rests on refining capacity, where it dominates across the lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earths and graphite supply chains. While its share is expected to decline in most of these cases by 2035, the country is expected to maintain its leading position in each.",{"type":631,"attrs":798},{"id":633,"body":799},[800],{"id":801,"_uid":802,"type":638,"component":639,"fixed_height":640,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":640,"fixed_height_tablet":640},"28403015","i-d52798d1-c6fe-4608-8a81-f3519fcb5ec1",{"type":631,"attrs":804},{"id":633,"body":805},[806],{"id":807,"_uid":808,"type":638,"component":639,"fixed_height":640,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":640,"fixed_height_tablet":640},"28193340","i-49d41db1-d9eb-4a95-9554-bcb0f5221da4",{"type":631,"attrs":810},{"id":633,"body":811},[812],{"id":813,"_uid":814,"type":594,"component":639,"fixed_height":640,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":640,"fixed_height_tablet":640},"3640495","i-5e07ea72-e7ba-4321-ae8b-f9fcc9191052",{"type":642,"attrs":816,"content":817},{"level":644,"textAlign":49},[818],{"text":819,"type":584},"In focus: CATL",{"type":579,"attrs":821,"content":822},{"textAlign":49},[823],{"text":824,"type":584},"Shares in China’s largest battery maker, CATL, hit a new high in March, closing at RMB 413 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on 20 March as the war in Iran drove strong expectations of an increase in battery demand. This builds on a strong share price performance that has followed impressive revenue figures for 2025.",{"type":579,"attrs":826,"content":827},{"textAlign":49},[828],{"text":829,"type":584},"The company, which was founded in 2011, has established itself as the world’s largest EV and energy storage battery supplier in the world in just 15 years. It had 39.2% market share in 2025, and supplied more EV and BESS cells than any other company. Of all BESS cells supplied globally last year, one in five came from the company’s plant in the county of Liyang in the Jiangsu province of China. Of all EV cells, 35% were produced by the company.",{"type":631,"attrs":831},{"id":633,"body":832},[833],{"id":834,"_uid":835,"type":638,"component":639,"fixed_height":640,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":640,"fixed_height_tablet":640},"28351772","i-93a942ae-4a9d-406b-a281-971532adfe42",{"type":579,"attrs":837,"content":838},{"textAlign":49},[839,841,848],{"text":840,"type":584},"In the middle of 2025, ",{"text":842,"type":584,"marks":843},"we asked whether CATL revenue growth would return",[844],{"type":589,"attrs":845},{"href":846,"uuid":847,"anchor":49,"target":593,"linktype":594},"/article/charting-the-evolution-of-catls-revenue-streams","62db0e85-b8ad-4ea7-80c5-d285c4b019c0",{"text":849,"type":584}," after it had stalled in 2024. Revenue dropped in that year as the company adjusted prices to reflect lower prices of raw materials, though sales continued their growth. We noted that CATL’s increased vertical integration was helping it to improve product margins and, in the event, revenue surged 17% in 2025 to RMB 423.7bn, driving a boost to the company’s profits of 42% as they swelled to RMB 72.2bn.",{"type":579,"attrs":851,"content":852},{"textAlign":49},[853],{"text":854,"type":584},"A considerable part of that increased revenue came from the company’s expansion of its energy storage business, which grew from RMB 57.3bn to RMB 62.4bn last year. While it represented a smaller proportion of the company’s revenue, this was only because of the pace of expansion of its EV cell business.",{"type":579,"attrs":856,"content":857},{"textAlign":49},[858,863],{"text":859,"type":584,"marks":860},"Benchmark’s China Briefing provides a monthly bulletin on changes in the country from across the battery supply chain, as well as downstream. ",[861],{"type":862},"italic",{"text":864,"type":584,"marks":865},"This mine-to-grid update can be accessed here.",[866,870],{"type":589,"attrs":867},{"href":868,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":869},"https://intelligence.benchmarkminerals.com/publications/briefings","url",{"type":862},{"type":579,"attrs":872,"content":873},{"textAlign":49},[874],{"text":875,"type":584,"marks":876},"Benchmark will also be in Shanghai, China for this year’s edition of Benchmark Week, with more details to follow soon.",[877],{"type":862},"It is difficult to overstate China’s role in the battery supply chain. It is the world’s largest producer of batteries, whether for electric vehicles (EVs) or battery energy stationary storage (BESS). It is the world’s largest single miner of lithium and natural graphite – it is also, in both cases, the largest supplier of refined product – and the largest provider of needle coke and synthetic graphite. In rare earths, it controls over 90% of global refining capacity.",[880,889],{"slug":881,"name":882,"content":883},"benjamin-roche","Benjamin Roche",{"job_title":884,"image":885,"bio":887,"linkedin":888},"Editor – Energy Transition Supply Chains",{"filename":886},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/800x800/66d6674fb8/benjamin-roche.png","Benjamin is Benchmark's Editor for Energy Transition Supply Chains, covering both upstream products like critical minerals and downstream products including energy storage systems and electric vehicles. He has previous experience covering trade flows, tariffs and the effects of geopolitics on supply chains.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrochecontent/",{"slug":567,"name":568,"content":890},{"job_title":570,"image":891,"bio":573,"linkedin":574},{"filename":572},"article",[894,897,899,902,905,908,911,914,917,920,923,925,927,929,931],{"slug":895,"name":896},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":898,"name":261},"anode",{"slug":900,"name":901},"battery-technology","Battery Technology",{"slug":903,"name":904},"copper","Copper",{"slug":906,"name":907},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":909,"name":910},"ess","ESS",{"slug":912,"name":913},"ev","EV",{"slug":915,"name":916},"geopolitics","Geopolitics",{"slug":918,"name":919},"gigafactories","Battery & Gigafactory",{"slug":921,"name":922},"graphite","Graphite",{"slug":924,"name":8},"lithium",{"slug":926,"name":189},"natural-graphite",{"slug":928,"name":150},"nickel",{"slug":930,"name":414},"rare-earths",{"slug":932,"name":933},"synthetic-graphite","Synthetic Graphite","private",{"id":936,"alt":640,"name":640,"focus":640,"title":640,"source":640,"filename":937,"copyright":640,"fieldtype":938,"meta_data":939,"is_external_url":50},163722642447005,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/713x754/a5a57bf82f/china-map.png","asset",{},{"id":941,"alt":640,"name":640,"focus":640,"title":640,"source":640,"filename":942,"copyright":640,"fieldtype":938,"meta_data":943,"is_external_url":50},129066369579184,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/39e88178e2/bm-china-flag.jpg",{},"It is difficult to overstate China’s role in the battery supply chain. It is the world’s largest producer of batteries, whether for electric vehicles (EVs) or battery energy stationary storage (BESS).","Apr 08, 2026","8th April 2026",[],[],1784052250887]