The United States will not only not allow the two countries to part ways, but will also prompt the two sides to further increase cooperation. According to a recent report by the Associated Press of Finance, Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel is preparing to make "the first major copper investment" in China, President Potanin said that the company plans to establish a joint venture with Chinese companies and build a copper plant in China, which is expected to be completed in 2027, when Russia will ship a large amount of copper concentrate to China, and the joint venture between the two sides will be able to officially open. #MCN首发激励计划#
It is reported that Norilsk Nickel Company is one of the largest mining and metallurgical enterprises in Russia, founded in 1993, headquartered in Moscow, its largest production base is located in the Norilsk-Tarnakh region in northern Siberia, and also has mines in Finland, South Africa, Botswana and other countries. It should be pointed out that although the company is the world's largest producer of nickel and palladium, it is also one of the world's top ten copper producers, accounting for 2.5% of the world's copper production, and the world's largest copper company, Chile's national copper company, has a global share of only 10%.
After all, Russia's copper reserves are as high as 62 million tons, ranking fourth in the world, and mineral deposits are relatively concentrated, of which the Udokan copper mine is the largest copper mine in Russia, with reserves of 26.7 million tons, while China's copper reserves are less than 35 million tons, ranking ninth in the world, and the mineral deposits are scattered, many of which are small copper mines. Therefore, it seems that no matter how you look at it, Norilsk Nickel has no reason to move its copper production line to China, let alone have to transport its own copper mines, which is a lot of money.
△ President of the Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel Company Potanin
Judging from the report, the reason why Norilsk Nickel Company moved part of its copper production line to China is mainly due to three considerations.
(1) Circumvention of Western sanctions. According to a report by Jiemian News in mid-April, the United States and Britain recently issued a ban on metal trading institutions, including the London Metal Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, from accepting aluminum, copper and nickel produced in Russia, preventing Moscow from earning income from the export of these metals. By moving the copper production line to China, Norilsk will be able to label it "Made in China" and circumvent Western export bans.
(2) Gestures of goodwill to China. As Chinese netizens said, there is no shortage of Chinese, no shortage of technology, no shortage of funds, and what is lacking is resources. As we said earlier, China is actually a copper-poor country, ranking 9th in the world in terms of copper reserves, while in stark contrast, China is the world's largest copper consumer, accounting for half of the world's copper demand. As we all know, China is currently pushing new energy vehicles, which require a lot of copper, data show that pure electric vehicles need at least 83 kg of copper, hybrid vehicles need 60 kg of copper, respectively, 3.6 times and 2.6 times that of traditional fuel vehicles.
(3) Exploring the way for the northern sea trade between China and Russia. President Potanin made it clear that there is no need for China to provide copper ore, and that Russia will transport copper ore from Siberia and that it will go through the Northern Sea Route. It is reported that the Northern Sea Route is the shortest sea route connecting Asia and Europe, and most of the section is located in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Russia, and with global warming it has gradually become a golden shipping route that can be used, and it is "one-third shorter" than the traditional Strait of Malacca and Suez Canal routes, and it is also conducive to avoiding US maritime hegemony.
Just recently, the West, led by the United States, has attacked China and Russia at the same time. As far as Russia is concerned, it includes restricting Russian metal exports, approving large-scale military aid to Ukraine, and confiscating Russia's assets outside the country; as far as China is concerned, the US military's "Green Berets" special forces are stationed in Taiwan, the United States deploys medium-range missile systems with a range covering the coast of the mainland in Luzon, and forcibly divest TikTok, the US business of the Chinese company "ByteDance". At this time, the relocation of Russian companies to China is undoubtedly a good sign that China and Russia are embracing heating and joining forces to counteract. China has the most powerful industrial chain in the world, and Russia has the most abundant resources in the world, and the two are natural partners. It is believed that when President Putin visits China, China and Russia will sign more similar cooperation orders to jointly resist the economic hegemony of the West.