The Philippines will grasp the development of the world's development to the new energy automobile industry, attract investors to invest in the Philippines nickel mine processing industry, appreciate the natural resources of the Philippines, and create more employment opportunities for the people.
The Philippine Trade Minister Alfredo Pascual, on Wednesday (September 13), accompanied President President Macco to attend the Asian Summit of the Milken Institute.Paszal said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that the Philippine government hopes to add value to nickel mines in China to produce the front -wheel drive material (Battery Precursor) of electric vehicle batteries, and even produce green batteries directly in the Philippines.
Pasquel pointed out that 90 % of the Philippines was exported to China. Many of the electric vehicle batteries produced in China, and many of them used the Philippines nickel.
He said: "We are discussing with those technical companies, encouraging them to cooperate with our mineral companies to produce the front -wheel drive material of the battery positive pole in the Philippines, and hope that we can finally enter the battery manufacturing industry."
Nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium and other metals are the key raw materials for electric vehicle batteries, while the Philippines is an important nickel ore exporter.The Philippines has been proven nickel ore reserves in the top 10 in the world.According to statistics from the US Geological Survey in 2022, the Philippines's proven nickel ore reserves have 4.8 million metric tons, ranking behind Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and New Carendonia.In 2021, the Philippines produced 370,000 metric tons of nickel ore, second only to Indonesia for 1 million metric tons.
Although the Philippines wants to develop the mineral processing industry, Pasquar emphasizes that the Philippines will not prohibit the export of non -processing nickel ore.
Pasquel said: "Export is the most direct approach because we do not have a smelting plant. Although some people have proposed to prohibit export nickel ore, we cannot say that it is forbidden. Our mining business will not sell their ore."
The Indonesian government prohibits nickel ore exports in 2020 to attract foreign merchants to develop nickel smelling factories and downstream industries to increase the added value of the nickel industry.Indonesian President Zoko said that after nickel processing into a battery material, the export value can increase by 17 times.The Indonesian government is now ready to copy the nickel industry development model to other mineral raw materials.
Sino -Philippine territorial disputes will not affect bilateral trade
Pas Quar said that China is the world's main electric vehicle production country. The Philippines hopes to attract Chinese investors to set up factories in the Philippines, including mineral smelting plants, battery manufacturers and even electric vehicle production lines.
He said: "American companies run from China to find new investment places, and Chinese companies are also looking for new places outside China. Most of them have gone to Vietnam, but the investment scale is too large.One choice. "
Pasquar does not worry about the Philippines and the sovereignty disputes between the South China Sea territorial territoriality in China will affect the trade relations between China and the Philippines.
He said: "China -Philippine relations are much greater than we faced in the South China Sea. Of course, the South China Sea issue is very important, but it is not all of our relations with China.Trade and investment relationships and the relationship between the two peoples are damaged. "
Since the Philippine President President Macos took office, China -Philippine relations have cooled down due to the repeated confrontation between the two countries in the South China Sea.However, in terms of trade, China has always been the largest trading partner and the largest imported supply country in the Philippines.In the first half of this year, China also surpassed the United States and Japan and became the largest export market in the Philippines.
