CHINA CONTINUES TO STOCKPILE OIL
Over the next two years, China's state oil companies, Sinopec and CNOOC, will be rapidly expanding the country's strategic oil reserve capacity, adding at least 169 million barrels of additional capacity across 11 new sites. Once operational, the facilities will be able to store the equivalent of two weeks' worth of China's net crude imports. Driven by crude prices below $70 per barrel, China has been stockpiling an average of 530,000 barrels per day this year. Analysts expect this pace to continue through at least the first quarter of 2026. Two sites with a combined capacity of 11 million barrels are under construction in Shaanxi, while Sinopec is building a 20 million barrel facility on Hainan Island. In September, China's total onshore national oil reserves were approximately 799 million barrels, a 109 million barrel increase above 2023 levels. (Reuters, October 7, 2025)
BEIJING IMPOSES MORE EXPORT CONTROLS ON RARE EARTHS
China's Ministry of Commerce has imposed new export controls on rare earth elements and related technologies vital to high-tech and military products. Foreign companies must now seek approval to buy items containing even trace amounts of China-sourced rare earths. Beijing also introduced licensing rules for technologies used in rare earths mining, smelting, recycling, and magnet-making. China produces nearly 70% of the world's rare earth minerals and controls about 90% of global processing. The Commerce Ministry said the rules "better safeguard national security" and prevent use in "sensitive fields such as the military." "This should be a wake-up call to the U.S. government that we need to invest in and appropriate more to domestic capabilities," says Nazak Nikakhtar, a former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce. "Both are critical to rebuild America's rare earths industrial base." (Associated Press, October 9, 2025)
U.S. SANCTIONS CHINA REFINERY FOR IRAN OIL PURCHASES
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned dozens of individuals, entities, and vessels – including Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group and the Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal at Lanshan Port – for facilitating Iran's oil trade. Treasury said the refinery had purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023, while the terminal has received millions of barrels from over a dozen shadow fleet vessels that evade sanctions. This marks the fourth round of sanctions targeting China-based refineries purchasing Iranian oil. "The Treasury Department is degrading Iran's cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran's energy export machine," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated. (UPI, October 10, 2025)
CHINA STOPS BUYING AMERICAN SOYBEANS
Amid its trade dispute with the U.S., China has stopped buying American soybeans in retaliation for Trump administration tariffs and shifted its purchases to Brazil and Argentina instead. As the world's top soybean importer, China bought 61% of globally traded soybean supplies over the past five years. Before the 2018 trade war, U.S. farmers sent 28% of their entire crop to China. That dropped to 11% in 2018–19, rebounded to 31% in 2020–21, and fell again to 22% in 2023–24. Argentine and Brazilian producers are filling the gap, posing long-term risks to U.S. farmers struggling to find new markets. (Fox News, October 9, 2025)
BYD OPENS MASSIVE EV PLANT IN BRAZIL
In Brazil, Chinese carmaker BYD has inaugurated its largest electric vehicle plant outside of Asia. The launch of the vast Camacari complex in Bahia state brought together Brazil's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, as well as state and local officials and dozens of industry figures. "Green development is an irreversible global trend. We are here not just to build cars but to build a future, one that belongs to every Brazilian who chooses cleaner transport," said BYD founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu during the ceremony. The new complex, which ranks as the biggest electric vehicle factory in Latin America, represents an investment of $978 million. Built on the grounds of a former Ford Motor Company site, it will begin production with a capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, expanding to 300,000 in a second stage. (South China Morning Post, October 10, 2025)
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