It is difficult to move an inch without "lithium", and the gate of the Korean enterprise prison was opened for Yoon Suk-yeol, which attracted attention
With China's sanctions on gallium and germanium, European and American countries, including the United States, have fallen into a panic, and the ** of gallium and germanium has been rising, which is undoubtedly a catastrophe for other semiconductor powers that have been following the United States.
Following rare metals such as gallium and germanium, speculation has begun to arise whether China will impose more restrictions on other important metal raw materials. Germany** has said that if China restricts its lithium exports, Germany will be in trouble. Although Germany is one of the largest countries in the world, the demand for lithium has also increased in recent years with the boom of new energy vehicles and other industries.
If China imposes a ban on lithium imports to Germany, there will be a shortage of lithium, and South Korea, which is a neighboring country, has only six days left. Because of this, Korean companies are so nervous, they are very worried that Huaguo will really interfere in the production of lithium mines, and then Huaguo will also interfere in this matter, and Korean companies will be miserable at that time.
Restricting the supply of rare earths, South Korea is anxious.
Due to China's restrictions on the use of gallium, South Korea's ** revealed that South Korea's gallium inventory is only more than 40 days left, and South Korea's "East Asia" pointed out that in addition to gallium, South Korea's other major mineral inventories are also much smaller than China's, as of the end of May, South Korea's 13 rare metal inventories are less than half of the plan, especially lithium, and even six days can not be held.
And at this time, China announced that it would increase import controls on lithium ore.
You must know that there were relatively few minerals on the Korean Peninsula originally, and after the DPRK and South Korea, the few minerals were also occupied by North Korea, after all, most of them were located in the mountainous areas of the north. Although South Korea is now known as an "advanced country", most of South Korea's mineral resources depend on foreign countries, and China has restricted exports of rare earth elements, especially the demand for rare earth elements.
There are 21 million tonnes of known lithium reserves in the world, and China has 5.1 million tonnes, accounting for about a quarter. In addition, Chinese companies such as CATL and BYD have acquired a lot of minerals in Africa, South America and other places, accounting for the vast majority of the world's lithium ore.
And in 2022, South Korea's exports to China reached record levels, with electric vehicles and lithium ranking first in South Korea's imports. Even South Korea's largest consortia, such as Samsung, LG, and SK, all buy lithium salts from China or make their own lithium salts, and without China's support, South Korea's big consortia can only watch. In June, South Koreans publicly announced that they had developed a new lithium-ion battery that could charge a car in six minutes. However, at this moment, they are not happy at all, and without lithium, even if the Koreans can charge all the power in a minute, it will be impossible.
Of course, as long as the cooperation between China and South Korea is okay, then it is also a good choice for China to "take care" of South Korea a little bit in the production of lithium salts. But after Yoon Suk-yeol took office, South Korea has completely turned to the United States, not only participating in the opposition of the United States and Japan, but also interfering in Taiwan's internal affairs.
Worried about internal and external troubles, Yin Xiyue stepped into prison with one foot.
It can be said that most of the troubles that South Korea is experiencing now are because of Yoon Suk-yeol, the United States. Between China and the United States, South Koreans have shown considerable political literacy, and most of them are on the side of the United States, not China. This is also why, although there are some contradictions between China and South Korea, in terms of economy and trade, the business exchanges between the two countries are very active.
However, after Yoon Suk-yeol took office, South Korea immediately formed an alliance with the United States and united with Japan to crack down on China's semiconductor industry, while South Korea's Samsung and SK hynix launched fierce competition with China's Yangtze River, Changxin and other companies. But Mr. Yoon had always dreamed of becoming a developing power and uniting against China, but he did not know that South Korea was so dependent on China in many ways. Now, with China hitting back a little, South Korea will have to pay the price for Yoon's mistakes.
If China does impose sanctions on South Korea, then Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to be imprisoned.
Everyone knows that South Korea's ** has always been a very dangerous thing, except for Moon Jae-in, who can survive because of his good popularity, the other South Korea's ** are either imprisoned or sentenced to death, and none of them have a good ending. Yoon Suk-yeol is still making a fuss, but there is a lot of scolding on the South Korean side, and Yoon Suk-yeol is going to prison.
In addition to the danger caused by Yoon Suk-yeol's revenge for the United States, Yoon Suk-yeol's series of behaviors of "licking Japan and kneeling to the United States" have aroused strong dissatisfaction among the Japanese. The move comes after South Korean prosecutors accused Yoon Suk-yeol of making false statements in his mother-in-law's financial lawsuit. It didn't take long for Kim Jianxi's wife's "brand-name shopping" incident to cause an uproar in South Korea. Yoon Suk-yeol didn't say a word about it, but went to Ukraine to try to comfort the people. Yoon Suk-yeol does not care about his own people, but he does not refuse to come to the two "friendly countries" of the United States and Japan, which has changed the impression of South Koreans on him again. Yoon Suk-yeol's support rate has dropped to 35 percent, and negative comments are as high as 62 percent.
South Korea cannot do without "lithium", and can only hope that the South Korean people will recognize this as soon as possible, and in the game between major powers, we must act cautiously and not blindly follow the trend.