With China outperforming the rest of the world in its economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has an increasing need to secure strategic materials and commodities, market participants told Fastmarkets.
The disruptions to international trade amid all the headwinds derived from the Covid-19 pandemic have identified the vulnerabilities in the global supply chain.
The nationwide and regional lockdowns in the resource-rich regions of Africa and South America this year made market participants consider the risks of over-dependence on a single country or region for mineral supply, especially when this issue will not be solved for the foreseeable future due to the geological characteristics of and technical bottleneck to exploration.
In contrast to the role China plays as one of the biggest manufacturing hubs in the world, it is heavily reliant on importing critical minerals and refined products, including but not limited to iron ore, copper concentrates, refined copper, bauxite, alumina, cobalt hydroxide and cobalt metal alongside many other materials.
Thus, it is essential for China to hold an adequate inventory of critical minerals and commodities for the...