Tunisia Aims to Strengthen Cooperation with China's Automotive Industry, SHFE Tin Prices Fluctuate at Lows [SMM Tin Morning Brief]

September 10, 2025 SMM Tin Morning Briefing:

Futures: The most-traded SHFE tin contract (SN2510) opened slightly lower in the night session and maintained a sideways trend at low levels, closing at 269,000 yuan/mt, down 0.28% from the previous trading day.

Macro: (1) On September 8, Luo Wen, Party Secretary and Minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation, chaired the ninth collective (expanded) study session of the Party Group's Theoretical Learning Center in 2025. The meeting emphasized the need to enforce safety responsibilities at all levels, ensuring enterprises fulfill their primary responsibilities while strengthening departmental supervision and local management. It called for advancing smart regulation by accelerating the establishment of an "Internet + AI" food safety supervision model, optimizing the "one product, one code, one platform" system for industrial goods, and improving the national special equipment safety supervision information platform. The meeting also highlighted balancing development and safety by promoting upgrades of aging elevators and other special equipment, as well as trade-in programs for e-bikes and home appliances, thereby supporting the implementation of major national strategies such as the program of large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins and the initiative to implement major national strategies and build up security capacity in key areas. Additionally, it stressed enhancing institutional foundations by expediting revisions to laws such as the Special Equipment Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China, while continuing to develop safety standards to bolster regulatory frameworks. (2) On the 8th, Fatima Thabet Chiboub, Tunisia's Minister of Industry, Mines, and Energy, attended the groundbreaking ceremony of a Chinese auto parts enterprise in Tunisia. She stated that the global automotive industry is undergoing significant technological transformations, and Tunisia aims to strengthen cooperation with China's automotive sector. Chiboub noted that Tunisia and China have already established strong partnerships in education, healthcare, and infrastructure development. With the launch of this Chinese-funded project, industrial collaboration has taken a new step forward. She highlighted that auto parts manufacturing is a key industrial sector in Tunisia, contributing nearly 4% to the country's annual GDP, with export value reaching 2.2 billion euros in 2024. Tunisia will spare no effort to facilitate more Chinese investments, fostering mutual development. Jieyi Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. invested in this wiring harness factory in Ben Arous Province. Wang Chao, the company's representative, stated at the ceremony that by introducing highly automated production lines and lean manufacturing concepts, Chinese enterprises are enhancing local auto parts manufacturing capabilities and industrial efficiency while creating jobs and training local professionals. (3) Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of the MIIT, stated at a State Council press conference that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's NEV production has expanded significantly, with improved product quality and greater economic contributions. In 2024, NEV sales exceeded 2 trillion yuan, driving rapid growth across upstream and downstream segments of the industry chain and generating substantial socio-economic benefits, thereby playing a vital role in high-quality economic development. However, there are still some issues in the industry's development that cannot be ignored. For example, there are shortcomings in high-end intelligent automotive chips, and irrational competition persists in the industry. In the next step, the MIIT will further improve support policies, strengthen breakthroughs in key core technologies, regulate industrial competition order, and continuously promote high-quality development of the industry.

Fundamentals: (1) Supply-side disruptions: Overall tin ore supply in major production areas such as Yunnan is tightening, with some smelters maintaining production halts for maintenance in September (Bullish ★). (2) Demand side: PV industry: After the installation rush, orders for PV tin bars in east China declined, and some producers saw lower operating rates; Electronics industry: Electronics end-users in south China entered the off-season, coupled with high tin prices, leading to strong wait-and-see sentiment among end-users, with orders only meeting essential needs; Other sectors: Demand in areas such as tinplate and chemicals remained stable, without exceeding expectations.

Spot market: Trading in the spot market was mediocre yesterday, with most traders only transacting 10-20 mt, and only a few traders transacting over 50 mt. The vast majority of downstream and end-user enterprises saw some growth in orders this week, but purchasing remained relatively conservative, waiting for lower buying positions.

[The information provided is for reference only. This article does not constitute direct advice for investment research decisions. Clients should make decisions cautiously and not use this to replace independent judgment. Any decisions made by clients are unrelated to SMM.]