"China and Russia have an advantage", "This Battle of the World | Bolivia | Battle of the Controversy"
On August 5th, the Spanish newspaper Le Monde published an article titled "China and Russia Have an Advantage in the Battle for White Gold in Bolivia" on its website. The author is Daniel Losano, and the full text is excerpted as follows:
"This is news that will surely shake the world, as Bolivia is consolidating its leading position in global lithium reserves. Today, Bolivia's lithium reserves are not 21 million tons, but 23 million tons. In recent years, we must effectively manage the world's largest precious element reserves." In July of this year, Bolivian President Luis Arce announced to the world that new discoveries in the Coipasa and Grand Pastos salt marshes have propelled Bolivia to become the world's largest lithium reserve.
Under the gaze of the United States and Europe, Russia and China are competing for Bolivia's "white gold". The Putin government is a close ally of the revolution on the American continent, and the Asian giant China has gone deep into the Americas in search of raw materials. Both are interested in lithium because it has become a popular material in the face of the unstoppable growth in demand for batteries in electric vehicles, laptops, mobile phones, and storage systems. Elon Musk's Tesla is already moving at full speed, but companies such as General Motors also hope to compete in the battery market. The background of all of this is an energy crisis.
Economist Jose Nogra said, "The clean energy revolution is about creating good batteries. But so far, the biggest constraint of these clean energy sources remains inadequate storage technology, despite significant progress. Lithium is a key mineral in this area."
Bolivia is destined to benefit economically from the lithium revolution, and lithium will become the "oil" of the new era. But there are also subtle differences. President Ars é confused the concepts of "reserves" and "resources". In theory, Bolivia has a lot of lithium resources, but in reality, there are very few proven reserves available for industrialization. This needs to be verified separately. If verified, Bolivia will play an important role in the global energy landscape. However, due to political issues, corruption, nepotism, and lack of resources, the country has made little progress in this regard.
▲ Information image: This is a photo taken in Uyuni, southern Bolivia, of a lithium carbonate factory and a potassium chloride factory built by a Chinese enterprise.
The famous "Lithium Triangle" holds two-thirds of the world's reserves. These countries have become the main factors for countries to move their pieces on the global geopolitical chessboard, just as the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia are a mirror of the overall pattern of the American continent. In Bolivia, China and Russia currently have the upper hand, preparing to monopolize the reserves of this Andean country. Thanks to China's investment, the La Paz government has formulated an ambitious plan to achieve nearly 300000 tons of lithium production between 2025 and 2030.
Experts believe that Alsace has chosen Chinese and Russian companies, but these companies are not focused on directly refining lithium technology. The main reason for choosing these companies is for political reasons. At the same time, the United States has not yet formulated a strategy for Bolivia's lithium industry, and European companies are also afraid of political risks in Bolivia. Experts suggest that Bolivia should leverage its advantages and cooperate with companies from all powerful countries, rather than just one or two companies.
In the lithium triangle, Chile and Argentina have vastly different situations. Experts point out that in Chile, the debate on so-called "nationalization" has already begun, and some important companies such as Chilean Mining and Chemical Company, American Yabao Company, as well as some new companies such as American Energy Exploration Technology Company have started operating. In Argentina, the local influence of each province is greater. Large Argentine companies such as oil and gas technology companies may try to enter Bolivia's lithium industry.
In the face of enormous economic interests in the Americas, China has once again taken the lead, while Russia has followed closely behind. Experts believe that this will only make the two countries stronger in terms of geopolitics, and will have a serious impact on the economy and regional security of the United States.
