The Wall Street Journal recently reported that China’s electric vehicle battery giant is heading global, but it may be too late for Western companies to stop it. The report also said that it would be “hard to succeed” for European and American companies to compete with CATL.
Screenshot of the Wall Street Journal report.
Competition in the global automobile market is fierce, and electric vehicles are an important field, and the battery technology of each country directly determines the success or failure of the country’s electric vehicle industry. On November 7, local time, the “Wall Street Journal” published an article stating that China’s electric vehicle battery giant is going global, but it may be too late for Western companies to stop it. Even if various important protective measures are taken, it may still happen in the future. Encounter difficulties in competition and even lose.
According to reports, China has now become the world’s largest exporter of electric vehicles, which has also boosted the development of the battery industry. If companies such as CATL maintain this year’s growth rate, they will soon become the leader in global market share.
In the face of competition, whether the United States passes the “Inflation Reduction Act” or the European Union launches a countervailing investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, they are all “stumbling blocks”. But now, many Chinese battery manufacturers have overcome these obstacles and have increased their efforts to invest and set up factories overseas. The announced scale has exceeded RMB 200 billion. The Wall Street Journal bluntly stated that this may mean that it is “difficult” for the United States or Europe to compete with CATL’s companies.
On September 5, local time, in Munich, Germany, German Chancellor Scholz visited the CATL booth to learn about the Shenxing supercharged battery exhibited by CATL.
The report first pointed out that after the booming domestic domestic market, Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturers are also becoming major export companies. At the same time, just as Japanese automakers did in the United States in the 1980s, Chinese companies are also considering building large new factories in Europe and the United States to avoid current and possible future import restrictions.
In this regard, the Wall Street Journal even wrote in a rather disappointed tone: “The West’s efforts to protect its own market may prove to be too little, too late.”
The report quoted data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers as saying that in the first nine months of 2023, sales of new energy vehicles in China, including plug-in hybrid vehicles, surged 37% year-on-year, while exports also increased significantly. This shows that China is now the world’s largest exporter of electric vehicles.
Because of this, this has in turn boosted the development of China’s battery industry, with CATL and automaker BYD becoming the world’s two largest producers of electric vehicle batteries. Outside of China, while Chinese battery makers still lag South Korean rivals such as LG Energy Solution in market share, that could change quickly if CATL continues to grow as it has this year.
CATL’s market share in Europe has risen to 24% this year, compared with only 10% in 2020, according to HSBC. Today, cars exported from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory are not only equipped with batteries from CATL, which also supplies European automakers such as Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz. .
The Wall Street Journal analyzed that due to fierce competition in the domestic market, Chinese battery manufacturers now also attach great importance to overseas sales. However, whether it is the “Inflation Reduction Act” passed by the United States or the EU’s recent announcement of a countervailing investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, these Chinese companies are also facing risks in the geopolitical field.
In September this year, BYD and other Chinese car companies made their debut at the Munich Auto Show.
But China’s battery industry is already trying to get around these restrictions, the report said. Goldman Sachs said that Chinese companies have announced overseas investments in the battery and materials fields of more than 200 billion yuan, equivalent to US$27 billion, of which more than 80% are in Europe. Among them, Hungary is a particularly popular investment destination. CATL plans to invest $7.7 billion in the country to build what could be the largest battery factory in continental Europe.
In addition, Morocco, which has free trade agreements with the EU and the United States, is another popular choice. Chinese battery manufacturer Guoxuan Hi-Tech has signed an agreement with the Moroccan government to consider building a factory there, with a final planned investment of US$6.4 billion. . Chinese mining company Huayou Cobalt will also build a lithium refinery in Morocco with South Korea’s LG Chem and produce lithium battery cathode materials.
The Wall Street Journal’s final analysis concluded that although China’s overseas battery competition is destined to not be smooth sailing, China’s battery leaders are ready to overcome these obstacles. This has pros and cons for the United States, and especially Europe.
In the long term, Chinese battery technology may filter into European suppliers and help build a local ecosystem, just as Tesla and Apple helped upgrade China’s electric car and smartphone industries. In the short term, this may mean that it is difficult for companies in the United States or Europe to compete with CATL and become unattractive.
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The Biden campaign is suspected of being in chaos over its stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is said that some people are considering resigning because of Biden’s “firm support” for Israel.
US President Biden. AP pictures
According to a report by the US Axios News Network on the 4th local time, US President Biden’s campaign team was “in chaos” due to its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some aides believed that the White House encouraged Israel’s “immoral attacks” on the Palestinians, and some even considered it. Resign.
According to reports, Biden currently relies on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to conduct important campaign activities such as fundraising, but some DNC staff are despairing of the scale of Israel’s air strikes on Gaza and the resulting death toll. One staffer admitted that Biden was considering resigning because of his “unwavering support” for Israel.
A person familiar with the matter said that some DNC staffers reported that they had been overwhelmed by emails and phone calls from grassroots Democratic donors angry about the administration’s policies. The aforementioned senior DNC official bluntly stated that the 2024 election campaign “will be a long and difficult campaign, and the president is making it even more difficult.”
The DNC declined to comment on the grievances of staff, supporters and donors, the report said. DNC Chairman Jimmy Harrison argued in a statement to Axios that Biden “continues to demonstrate unparalleled leadership and moral clarity” on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and said “Israel has the right to protect itself from terrorism.” and continued threats from Hamas.” He also said that Biden has been “a strong advocate for providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and protecting civilian lives.”
On November 2, local time, when Biden was attending a campaign fundraiser in Minneapolis, a woman interrupted his speech and asked him to call for a ceasefire immediately.
After the current round of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts broke out, the Biden administration expressed its firm support for Israel’s right to self-defense. Biden himself soon visited Israel in person to show support for this ally in the Middle East. At the same time, the United States has also deployed two aircraft carriers to the Eastern Mediterranean. So far, the total number of additional troops sent by the United States to the Middle East has reached 1,200.
However, with the Palestinian death toll rising, the difficulty of rescuing the hostages held by Hamas, and the increasingly outspoken outcry from Arab countries, European allies, and some people in the United States, the Biden team changed its tone late last month and supported “humanitarianism”. “Israeli action is suspended”, but it has not relented and clearly called for a “humanitarian ceasefire.”
On the evening of the 4th local time, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the entrance of the White House. Some protesters cursed Biden. The White House fence was damaged with red paint, and red “bloody handprints” appeared on the wall. Live footage shared by the American conservative media “Daily Caller” showed protesters waving Palestinian flags and scaling the White House fence. The protesters chanted “Liberate, liberate Palestine” and “Ceasefire now!”
Many Democrats are frustrated by Biden’s reluctance to demand restraint from Israel. On November 3, the Huffington Post revealed that 51 DNC staff signed a joint letter to leadership, which stated, “We believe it is the DNC’s moral obligation to urge President Biden to publicly call for a ceasefire. ”. This number represents 15% of the DNC’s approximately 300 staff.
“The disputes within the DNC also reflect the larger generational and political differences among Democrats.” Axios News Network pointed out that there is also a gap between older pro-Israel Democrats and younger progressives who are more sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. There is a conflict of positions. This internal conflict is also playing out among congressional Democrats and their staffs, with former staffers on the political teams of Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Democrat Bernie Sanders writing urging the two senators to call ceasefire.
The fight has also seeped into government itself. According to a letter previously disclosed by the media from US Secretary of State Blinken to all employees of the US State Department, Blinken admitted that there is widespread dissatisfaction within the department on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. On October 17, Josh Paul, a senior official in the U.S. State Department, announced his resignation because he knew he could not promote more humane policies within the U.S. government. The Huffington Post reported at the time that more and more people in the U.S. State Department were considering resigning like Paul, and some were preparing an internal “dissent cable” criticizing U.S. foreign policy toward Israel.
More importantly, Biden administration officials have begun to worry that close cooperation with Israel will lead to the United States being “completely isolated” on the international stage. According to a report by NBC on the 3rd, two current and two former senior U.S. officials familiar with internal discussions revealed that as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, they are increasingly worried about the Israeli military’s future military operations and It is “controllable” and the Biden administration may “lose more than the gain” if it continues to support Israel.
2023-11-08 08:32:10
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