CATL’s mining push escalates China’s critical minerals offensive

China’s battery giant is going vertical. CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, announced a $4.4 billion investment to launch a dedicated mining subsidiary focused on securing critical mineral supplies. This move represents a significant escalation in Beijing’s strategy to dominate the global battery supply chain. 

This announcement comes just one week after China issued State Council Order No. 834, which promulgates new national regulations designed to prevent foreign companies from re-shoring their supply chains. Together, these developments signal Beijing’s ability to synchronize regulatory and commercial actions in a key economic battleground. With CATL already commanding roughly 37 percent of the global electric vehicle battery manufacturing market, its new venture focused on mining threatens to consolidate further control over the battery supply chain at a moment when electric vehicles are gaining popularity globally and Western nations are scrambling to reduce their dependence on Beijing.

CATL is not an ordinary company. The firm maintains close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), meaning that CATL’s expansion gives Beijing entry into sensitive U.S. power grids and data from American automobiles. With its battery manufacturing dominance, CATL’s entry into upstream mining with state backing will grant Beijing unparalleled leverage over the minerals essential to electric vehicles, grid storage, and defense applications. The CCP now has even more ability to control these markets by suppressing prices through unfair trading practices, making alternative long-term investments unbankable.

Read more at Foundation for Defense of Democracies