Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Equipment Centre and other departments held a meeting that set the national standards for low-speed electric vehicles, which are expected to be officially released in September.

China imported 6,600 mt (Co content) of cobalt raw materials in January 2021, down 28% on the month, but up 2% on the year, customs data showed. In February, imports stood at 6,400 mt (Co content), down 3% from January, but up 24% from a year ago. Imports totalled 12,900 mt (Co content) in the two months, up 12% from the same period last year. 

Carbon neutrality stocks have attracted market attention recently. In December 2020, the Central Economic Work Conference determined that promoting a peak in coal consumption and carbon neutrality are one of the key tasks to be focused in 2021. China is aiming to improve the system that caps both national carbon intensity－carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP－and energy consumption, as it strives to reach a peak in carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon dioxide emissions with removal (often through carbon offsetting) or simply eliminating carbon dioxide emissions altogether. It is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industrial processes. Carbon neutrality is expected be an important part of the "Two Sessions" and the "14th Five-Year Plan” to be held this week. 

China produced 8,958 mt of tin ore and concentrate in December, up 24.3% on the month, but down 4.2% on the year, and output totalled 94,463 mt in 2020, up 10.4% from a year ago, data from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

In January, the SMM copper concentrate index stood at $46.00/mt, an decrease of $2.74/mt from the previous month. As of January 29, the SMM copper concentrate index stood at $43.85/mt, a month-on-month decrease of $2.32/mt.

China imported 9,100 mt (Co content) of cobalt raw materials in December 2020, up 2% from November, but down 9% from a year ago, customs data showed. Imports totalled 90,000 mt (Co content) in 2020, basically the same as the previous year. 

China's new energy vehicle market demand has grown rapidly, leading to stronger demand for ternary and iron-lithium materials. The global supply of nickel and cobalt raw materials is tightening, and the increase in downstream demand will support the rise of lithium prices in 2021.

South Africa has tightened its COVID-19 prevention measures imposing Level III lockdowns as the pandemic has worsened, triggering concerns about supply of cobalt raw materials.

China imported 1.83 million mt of copper ore and concentrate (hereinafter referred to as copper concentrate) in November 2020, a month-on-month increase of 8.3% and a year-on-year decrease of 15%, according to China Customs.

Automobile sales have shown a gradual recovery trend since April. China automobile production and sales have achieved year-on-year growth for eight consecutive months as of November.