42 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 OCTOBER 2023 MINING Drawing from her extensive cooperation with Chinese companies, Long also highlights the elevated political risks frequently faced by mining companies. “Chinese companies typically seek mineral resources in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, and Indonesia in Southeast Asia, among others,” she says. “These developing countries often experience more fragmented political landscapes and are susceptible to government changes and political party conflicts. Furthermore, some countries heavily rely on fiscal revenue generated from mineral resources. During periods of heightened resource sovereignty and nationalism, the nexus between resources and politics strengthens, making mineral resources easily subject to political influences. Politicians frequently utilize mining projects to showcase their ability to stand against foreign investors, garnering support from domestic voters. Consequently, shifts in mining policies in some countries often reflect external manifestations of political risks. Additionally, political risks are often intertwined with geopolitical tensions. In recent years, numerous projects involving Africa have been more or less overshadowed by geopolitical considerations.” She adds, “Moreover, the pandemic has impacted resource-rich countries, resulting in decreased fiscal revenue amid growing demands for public services and expanding fiscal budgets. As new investments decline or slow down, governments of resource-rich nations may adjust the commercial terms of existing mining projects. They might cite compliance as an excuse to opportunistically renegotiate terms and conditions, thereby augmenting their fiscal and tax revenue.” 矿产资源是“工业的粮食”，对 于当下迅猛发展的新能源汽车行业 来说更是如此。 伴随过去十年电动汽车行业的快 速发展，中国企业在新能源矿业领域 的海外“找矿”、并购步伐也在加速。 根据财新数据，“2013年到2022年的 十年间，中资在海外布局的锂矿项目 超过50个，投资地集中于澳大利亚、 南美、东南亚和非洲等地”。 “中国的新能源行业，例如新能 源汽车企业，持续往上游追索、力图强 化整个供应链，但中国缺乏钴、镍、锂 这三种对动力电池正极材料尤为关键 的金属，自身资源已无法支撑飞速增 长的行业需求，因此整个新能源汽车 产业链上下游企业要到境外获取资 源。我们相信只有控制源头才能控制 结果。”浙江华友钴业股份有限公司法 务总监张江波表示，近些年出海找矿、 投资建厂的潮流，也给华友钴业进一 步发展、打造产业一体化带来了契机。 竞天公诚律师事务所合伙人龙 艳梅律师从2008年开始长期服务于 中国矿业央企、民企，帮助企业“走出 去”。她观察到，中国企业不仅掌握大 量先进技术，在海外布局方面也有显 著竞争力，“较早全球布局、锁定上游 供应而获得的优势已传导到行业下 游，因此新能源已经成为中国在世界 上的一张名片”。 上拓资源、下拓市场 据张江波介绍，华友钴业自2002年 成立以来，经历了两轮国际化发展， 第一轮从2003年起前往非洲等地寻 找、获取矿物资源，第二轮则以近两年 为代表，“不光要上拓资源，更要下拓 市场，在境外加强供应链的建设，而在 这一轮走出去的过程中，我们特别感 受到了海外政策端的压力”。 “例如2018年时我们去印度尼 西亚进行红土镍矿资源的开发时，印 尼红土镍矿资源主要是开采或初炼 后运输回国进行深加工，当时印尼镍 资源开发在政策法律层面的难度和 挑战不大。” 但不久后，“印尼政府看到碳达 峰、碳中和已成为全球大势所趋，以 及新能源汽车产业汹涌澎湃不可阻 挡之势，而印尼的红土镍矿资源在全 球数一数二，镍对于三元正极材料、高 镍动力电池乃至新能源汽车发展来说 至关重要。”张江波说，印尼政府意识 到，全球矿企当时仅在印尼开采、没有 更多往下游延伸，因此国内产业链相 对单一，没有带来更多的产值、税收 和就业机会。由此，印尼政府对镍矿 资源产业进行了重新定位，于2020 年全面禁止镍原矿出口，倒逼外国公 司必须在印尼境内进行深加工、提炼 镍资源，这需要包括华友在内中国企 car manufacturers uphold highly refined management practices and maintain exceptionally high standards regarding ESG and compliance management for potential partners. Before formalizing any collaboration with potential partners, they conduct comprehensive ESG and compliance due diligence. They only engage in formal business cooperation with those potential partners who successfully pass such due diligence. Huayou initiated its ESG and compliance efforts in 2020, but there is still a gap between our standards and those of century-old European and American car manufacturers. We must acknowledge this disparity and develop our ESG and compliance plans and programs to open up more business development opportunities and space.” Zhang further emphasizes that as China plays an increasingly significant role in the development of Indonesia’s nickel industry, other countries are experiencing heightened pressure due to escalating competition. When it becomes challenging to keep up or surpass Chinese companies in terms of technology and manpower, European and US companies resort to leveraging political strategies, indirectly using governments, international organizations, and related groups to limit or suppress Chinese companies. Considering geopolitical influence, the Indonesian government also aims to attract more European, American, Japanese, and Korean companies to develop nickel resources in Indonesia. Confronted with such internal and external pressures, Huayou leverages its technological and industrial advantages to support the Indonesian government in enticing more partners from the US, Europe, South Korea, and so on to invest in Indonesia. This way, Huayou contributes its part to Indonesia’s initiatives for industrial upgrading, green economy development, and seizing global development opportunities in the EV industry. Concurrently, Huayou actively responds to the calls of the Belt and Road Initiative, venturing overseas to engage in international production capacity cooperation, striving to establish new benchmarks for high-quality joint construction and collaboration.
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