China’s lithium batteries are gaining increasing favor among overseas buyers with advancing technologies and improving services, as well as surging demand for electric vehicles worldwide, experts said. In the first three months, China’s lithium battery exports reached CNY109.79 billion, a yearly growth of 94.3%, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). The export surge took place throughout last year. The value of China’s total lithium battery exports in 2022 amounted to CNY342.65 billion, an increase of 86.7% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Li Xingqian, Director General of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce, said at a recent news conference that China’s high-tech and high value-added products, as well as products that lead to green transformation, such as electric vehicles, photovoltaic products and lithium batteries, have become new growth points for exports. “The notable increase in China’s lithium battery exports can be attributed to several factors, including increasing production capacity of lithium batteries, technological advancements in lithium battery manufacturing, and rising demand from major consumer countries for renewable energy and new energy vehicles,” said Zhou Mi, Senior Researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing.
Lyu Daliang, a Customs Spokesperson, said at a recent news conference that in the past few years, there was growing recognition of new energy and low-carbon development, and rising demand for green products in the global community. “China’s lithium battery manufacturers have advantages over others in terms of scale, efficiency and service. Chinese companies are capable of supplying large quantities, and their products can meet the diverse needs of different types users due to accumulated experience and increased production volume,” said Zhou.
“In addition, Chinese companies have a clear advantage coordinating with related equipment manufacturers in the upstream and downstream segments of the supply chain compared to other competitors. They also have advantages in pricing due to the increased production capacity and volume, and the ability to supply sustainably,” he said. According to a report by Chuancai Securities, from 2017 to 2020, China’s lithium battery exports increased steadily at a rate of 20% to 35% per year. In 2021 and 2022, they experienced explosive growth of 66.5% and 86.7%, respectively. Zhou attributed the explosive growth to diversified applications of new energy in the past two years. “Use of new energies is slowly entering the main market as compared to the past when it was often seen as a supplement to traditional energies.”
Experts said the growth in lithium battery exports reflected the increasing international recognition of Chinese battery manufacturers. According to South Korean battery market research firm SNE Research, in 2022, Chinese enterprises accounted for 60.4% of the market share of the top 10 global battery companies in terms of capacity, the China Daily reports.
