Global energy transition requires deeper international cooperation
Rising geopolitical tensions are highlighting the need for energy security and the global energy transition, which require deeper international cooperation across renewable energy supply chains, speakers said at the China Development Forum on March 22. According to the International Energy Agency, total global metal demand will increase sixfold by 2050, with lithium and cobalt jumping nearly fortyfold. Jeremy Weir, chairman of commodity trader Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., warned of supply shortage risks for essential minerals, noting that by 2035, global copper demand is expected to grow by 40%, yet existing mines and committed projects will only cover about half of the increment.
Middle East conflict disrupts global aviation market
The ongoing war in the Middle East has more than doubled aviation fuel prices, triggering flight cancellations worldwide, fuel export restrictions in Asia, and a surge in airfares as airlines scramble to manage rising costs. With crude supplies disrupted by the escalating conflict, the shock has rippled through the global aviation industry, straining fuel-importing countries and forcing major airlines to raise ticket prices or cut capacity as refinery output tightens.
Chinese-owned freighter uses Iran’s maritime ‘safe corridor’
Ten days after Iran established a de facto “safe” shipping corridor through its territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz, the first Chinese-owned cargo vessel has successfully navigated the newly forged passage, Caixin has learned. In the early hours of March 23, the Panama-flagged container ship Newvoyager took the route between Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands for a transit, bypassing traditional shipping lanes through the strait. The vessel, owned by a shipping company based in China’s Anhui province, broadcasted its status as “China Owner” through its automatic identification system during the transit.
Zijin Mining net profit tops 50 billion yuan on solid gold outlook
Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. (601899.SH) expects gold prices to remain high over the long term despite potential short-term volatility, President Lin Hongfu said at a March 23 earnings briefing, after the company reported its 2025 net profit surpassed 50 billion yuan for the first time. Even with global gold prices tumbling 20% to around $4,250 an ounce this month amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the current level remains 26.7% higher than the 2025 average of $3,431 an ounce.
Rising fuel prices expected to boost new-energy vehicle sales
The continuous rise in domestic fuel prices driven by the Middle East conflict is expected to hinder the recovery of traditional fuel vehicles while helping the new-energy vehicle (NEV) market escape its recent slump, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The association projected that NEVs would account for about 900,000 of the estimated 1.7 million passenger cars sold in China in March, pushing the NEV penetration rate back above 50% to reach 52.9%.
Former China Coal Energy executive investigated days after resigning
Zhang Guoxiu, a former vice president of China Coal Energy Co. Ltd. (601898.SH), is being investigated for suspected serious violations of discipline and law, graft busters in Anhui province said on March 24. Zhang’s investigation comes just four days after the state-owned coal mining giant announced his resignation for personal reasons.
