(I) Special Topic On Sodium-ion Battery Industry

The global lithium resource reserves are unevenly distributed, and our country has a large supply gap in self-sufficiency of resources. The three South American countries (Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile) account for as much as 58% of lithium resources, while our country's lithium resources account for only 6% of the world's total. Therefore, in order to support our country's position as an important global power battery producer and exporter, a large amount of lithium resources must be imported. At the same time, there are safety risks in our country's lithium resource security. Once Western countries restrict the export of lithium resources, the excessive shortage of lithium resources may affect the development of China's power battery industry. In contrast, sodium resources have high reserves and are evenly distributed, without the problem of resource scarcity. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the earth's crust, with an abundance of 2.30% in the earth's crust, which is several times that of lithium. It is evenly distributed around the world, and our country can achieve independent control.

The "South American Lithium Triangle" wants to follow OPEC's example and establish "Lithium PEK" to control lithium pricing. Chile's lithium mine nationalization strategy may accelerate its implementation. Bolivia, Argentina and Chile account for 58% of the world's total lithium resources, mainly salt lake lithium mines, with obvious cost advantages. If they jointly control pricing power, there may be a certain possibility of monopoly and price control, which will be detrimental to the development of the global new energy industry. For example, according to Guancha.com news, on March 23, 2023, local time, Bolivian President Luis Arce said that he plans to work with Argentina, Chile and Peru to "formulate a policy to ensure the status of the four countries as lithium suppliers under sovereign conditions" and protect the region's rich lithium resources from US interference. For example, according to Jiemian News and Daily Economic News, on April 20, 2023, local time, Chilean President Gabriel Boric proposed that the Chilean government intends to promote the development of the local lithium industry through a joint venture between the state and the private sector. All domestic or foreign private companies that want to participate in the Chilean lithium industry must cooperate with the National Lithium Company. The state will hold a controlling stake in the joint venture. With the announcement of a new national lithium resource policy by Chile, the nationalization process of lithium resources in Latin American countries cannot be ruled out to accelerate. For countries and regions with large demand for lithium resources, the independent control of "lithium", the most critical raw material for energy storage, is imminent. The development of sodium-ion batteries can reduce dependence on lithium resources. Sodium-ion batteries, as energy storage batteries with similar technical principles and performance to lithium-ion batteries, have been put on the agenda. Under such high lithium prices, there is a large room for development. At the same time, it is also conducive to promoting the return of lithium carbonate prices to rationality and reducing dependence on external lithium resources.

As a key raw material for energy, taking oil resources as an example, OPEC has a strong influence on the international oil market. The member states of the organization control about two-thirds of the world's oil reserves, accounting for more than 78% of the world's oil reserves, 40% of global oil production and 50% of exports. At the same time, the crude oil production cost of oil-producing countries in the Middle East is still far lower than that of other oil-producing areas. For countries and regions with low lithium resources and high mining costs, the sharp fluctuations in raw materials are not conducive to industrial development. It is very important to develop sodium resources as a low-cost alternative。