China ready to meet Trump’s Tariff threat through Tech-driven Aluminium production

As the largest producer, Beijing intensifies its export drive to developing countries

- BY KUNAL BOSE

China whose annual production of primary aluminium routinely well exceeds the metal’s combined output in the rest of the world has in place a comprehensive 'Action Plan' for the white metal covering 2025-27.

But in order to support production, the country is required to import large quantities of bauxite for refining into alumina, which thereafter is smelted into white metal. Last year saw a significant rise in China’s bauxite imports by 12.3% to 158.767m tonnes in which the share of Guinea was 69.41% and of Australia 25.12%. Non-mainstream bauxite imports, excluding shipments from Indonesia jumped 47.9% to 8.676m tonnes. China’s own production of bauxite in 2024 was 91.38m tonnes, a marginal rise over the previous year. Not only is the domestic bauxite production not in alignment with requirements of Chinese alumina refineries, the quality of domestic mineral in terms of alumina content is not up to the mark. Moreover, China's bauxite reserves are on the decline.

All this is making China increasingly dependent on bauxite imports to feed its alumina refineries. For a long time, China was a net importer of alumina. But refining capacity now at over 100m tonnes and operating capacity exceeding 100m tonnes, the country has turned into a net exporter. The challenge for the industry is to organise bauxite imports on a very large scale. The aluminium value chain factors have been well factored while formulating the ‘Action Plan’. The plan spells out the structural changes that the behemoth of an industry will be undergoing. Through steps being taken under the plan, Beijing is addressing several global and environmental concerns covering the value chain from bauxite mining to alumina refining to metal smelting as also issues linked to ideal alumina refining and metal smelting capacity and production for the country.