Congo copper and cobalt miners cut chemical use as Iran war disrupts supplies, sources say

Recently, new progress has been made in Zimbabwe's lithium concentrate exports. Chinese-owned companies including Sinomine Resource Group, Shengxin Lithium Energy, and Yahua Group have confirmed the matter. It is learned that the quota recipients include but are not limited to four major Chinese-owned mines. The quotas are tentatively set for a period of six months, with allocations based on each mine's current concentrator capacity. The quota amounts may be subject to certain adjustments in the future.

The General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice on carrying out quality work in industry and information technology in 2026. The notice mentioned strengthening quality supervision and management. It called for coordinated efforts in central quality and food safety assessments, supporting national quality supervision and random inspection of products, conducting quality inspections on key products such as lithium batteries, PV modules, civil explosives, and radio transmission equipment, and strengthening supervision and inspection of production consistency of road motor vehicle products. It also called for guiding e-commerce platforms to carry out quality self-declarations for online-purchased products, intensifying random inspection efforts.

Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the CPCA, stated at the High-Level Forum on Intelligent EV Development (2026) that total vehicle wholesale volume in 2026 is expected to reach 34.8 million units, up 1% YoY, with total passenger vehicle wholesale volume at 30.09 million units, up 2% YoY. China sales are projected at 23.59 million units, down 1% YoY, while manufacturer exports are expected to reach 6.5 million units, up 13% YoY. Passenger NEV wholesale sales are projected at 17.3 million units, up 13% YoY.