China

With effect from November 8, export licences are required for lithium battery materials,

cathode materials, related equipment and production technology, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs.

Since the legalisation of imports of recycled black mass for lithium-ion batteries came into effect on August 1 this year, after some trial imports, another 200 tons of black powder successfully cleared Chinese customs in early October at the port of Ningbo.

The 2025 annual convention of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association Recycling Metal Branch (CMRA) took place in Chengdu on November 7-9 and attracted more than 2500 participants from 36 countries. Topics covered by the conference included metal recovery, e-waste processing and sustainable resource utilisation, as well as the circular economy.

Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments have released a plan for 2025/26 to curb overcapacity and competition. It targets an annual output growth of just 1.5% for primary non-ferrous metals - a significant reduction from previous goals. A major component of the new plan is to enhance recycling initiatives, with the aim of exceeding an annual output of 20 million tons of recycled metals by 2026.

In other developments, October data published by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reveal that vehicle production increased by 12.1% year on year while sales jumped 8.8%.