Marco Perez Jr.

This week’s blog will be about China. According to the CNN article “China restricts exports of graphite as it escalates a global tech war” by Juliana Liu China has recently announced its plan to restrict exports of graphite, a mineral prominent to make batteries for electric vehicles based on national security grounds. The restriction will require permits for exporting synthetic graphite whether high purity, strength density, or natural flake graphite. 

The announcement was released days after the United States implemented additional limits on types of semiconductors that forbid American companies to sell to China. It is no secret that China and the US/Western Powers have engaged in a back-and-forth economic and tech supremacy contest for a while. Though this cycle has been a while for a while, China’s new restrictions will create an impact on the US car business. Globally the sales of electric vehicles and hybrids are soaring. According to the International Energy Agency, 10 million units were sold as of last year. While expecting a projection of 14 million vehicles this year. China was the world’s prominent graphite producer accounting for 65% of global production. In addition, China refines 60% of the world’s lithium and 80% of the cobalt. By China having the technology resources, and influence in the tech industry their actions reverberate globally. It is possible by China enacting such restrictions the US economy, which contains a high demand for electric vehicles or hybrids, will suffer from a low supply of materials and a higher demand resulting in higher prices in the coming years. 

Please find the article in more details here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/20/economy/china-graphite-export-curbs-hnk-intl/index.html