China’s president Xi Jinping said he was “both happy and worried” about CATL’s leading position in battery manufacturing, according to reports.
Reuters reported that Xi was quoted as saying that he was “both happy and worried” about CATL’s leading position but concerned about the risks.
This followed a presentation by CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun, who described how the firm commands 37% of the global battery market. He was speaking at a private meeting with industry and commerce representatives on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament.
“Emerging industries must do a good job in planning, figuring out how big the market is and where the risks are,” he reportedly said. “They should avoid marching ahead alone in an invincible fashion, only to be caught out by others and fail in the end.”
CATL has been building factories abroad and last month agreed to license its technology to a new Ford Motor plant in Michigan.
It has also offered to cut costs for Chinese car manufacturers, according to market watchers. This could hit smaller domestic rivals such as CALB and EVE Energy which are building factory capacity this year.
The total output of lithium-ion batteries in China exceeded 750GWh last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This was up 130% year-on-year.
Photo: President Xi Jinping. Wikimedia Commons
