China controls a third of the world’s lithium reserves

Beijing, Buenos Aires China is driving a global campaign to secure lithium – with great risks for Germany and Europe. With the boom in electric cars and the rapidly increasing need for batteries, there is a global race for the light metal that is indispensable for the future of e-mobility. Chinese companies are investing billions in countries in Latin America and Africa to secure deposits. According to experts, China could control around a third of the world’s lithium supply by 2025.

State and party leader Xi Jinping launched the offensive three years ago: “We have to increase the dependence of international supply chains on China and create effective countermeasures and deterrents against foreigners who want to artificially interrupt supplies to China.”