Summary: In recent years, with the development of global new energy and electric vehicles, nickel and cobalt have risen significantly in value. Through efforts, China has grown into the world's largest consumer of nickel and cobalt and the largest producer of nickel and cobalt through transnational cooperation.
Futures Daily reported on November 6: On November 4, the two-day '2020 China International Nickel & Cobalt Industry Annual Conference' was held in Nanjing. Ge Honglin, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Party Secretary of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, introduced the development of China's nickel and cobalt industry at the conference. He said that in recent years, with the development of global new energy and electric vehicles, nickel and cobalt have risen significantly in value. Through efforts, China has become the world's largest consumer of nickel and cobalt and the largest producer of nickel and cobalt through transnational cooperation.
According to Futures Daily reporters, since 2002, Chinese enterprises have invested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to enhance resource security. China holds cobalt resources in the DRC with reserves of approximately 1.1 million tonnes, and its capacity for cobalt hydrometallurgical refining intermediates built in the DRC is now comparable to that of multinational companies.
Under the guidance of the Belt and Road Initiative, to date, China has invested in nickel smelting capacity of about 1 million tonnes in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The nickel industry chain invested by Chinese enterprises in Indonesia has successfully combined China's market, technology and capital with Indonesia's resources, becoming an important growth pole in the global nickel market and a model for investment in countries along the Belt and Road.
He also noted that the industry currently faces several issues: first, how to actively respond to the risk of de-globalization exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and fully ensure resource supply and security; second, how to prevent and control overseas investment risks and protect the safety and health of employees; third, how to strengthen international cooperation and actively respond to the so-called 'responsible supply chain' issue; fourth, how to strengthen communication and cooperation among enterprises to avoid aggravating homogeneous competition and overcapacity.
On how to chart the path forward for the nickel and cobalt industry, Ge Honglin put forward four suggestions. First, we must deeply understand the new features, new contradictions, new challenges and new requirements of the development stage, strengthen awareness of opportunities and risks for industry development, formulate and improve future development plans, and open up a new situation of high-quality corporate development through more scientific and effective measures.
Second, actively implement dual circulation and accelerate the formation of a development pattern for the nickel and cobalt industry that takes the domestic major cycle as the mainstay and promotes mutual reinforcement between domestic and international dual circulation. It is necessary to accelerate the smooth flow of the domestic major cycle in the nickel and cobalt industry, further improve the industrial chain and supply chain, and focus on building a community with a shared future for the industry. We should promote a higher level and dynamically balanced supply of resources, promote higher quality supply of products that meets demand, and provide sustained development momentum for the domestic cycle. At the same time, we should enhance the stability and security of the external cycle, promote the external cycle while ensuring domestic consumption, and realize the linkage between internal and external circulation.
Third, actively pursue innovation-driven development and accelerate the pace of high-quality development. He said we should fully grasp the new opportunities brought by technological progress and the development of the times. The application of 5G technology and the development of global electric vehicles are both expanding the growth space of the nickel and cobalt market. He hopes that industry enterprises will seize the pulse of the times, continuously optimize product structure, accelerate product iteration, hold onto the lifeline of product quality, and embrace the trends of the times with the power of science and technology.
Fourth, actively practice sustainable development and present a responsible corporate image. While improving internal capabilities to enhance product competitiveness and fully meet the growing demand of downstream industries, it is necessary to further improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, follow a modern corporate development path featuring green, low-carbon, intelligent and civilized development, and demonstrate the image of Chinese enterprises as responsible producers on the international stage of the nickel and cobalt market, thereby promoting the sustainable development of China's and the global nickel and cobalt industries.