China will intensify efforts to curb excessive and disorderly competition in its battery industry, extending regulatory action already under way in the electric vehicle sector, the country’s industry ministry said on Friday.
The measures will cover both power batteries and energy storage batteries as authorities seek to address risks linked to rapid capacity expansion and price volatility across the supply chain.
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Li Lecheng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said China would strengthen capacity monitoring, early warning mechanisms and regulatory oversight across the battery sector.
The government will also step up supervision of production consistency and product quality, raise enforcement against intellectual property infringements, and guide companies to allocate capacity more rationally while expanding into overseas markets in a more orderly manner, according to an MIIT statement.
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Representatives from 12 companies across the power and energy storage battery supply chain attended the symposium, where discussions covered production operations, research and development, market competition and intellectual property protection. The ministry said industry participants were encouraged to resist irrational competitive practices and work jointly to maintain a stable and orderly market environment.
China’s battery sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, driven by strong growth in the electric vehicle market. In 2022, surging battery demand pushed lithium carbonate prices — a key raw material — to a record high of nearly 600,000 yuan ($84,800) per ton in November. Since then, prices have declined steadily and are now hovering around 100,000 yuan per ton, reflecting easing supply pressures and intensifying competition among battery producers.
Source: CNEVPOST
