Europeans point to dispute between EU, Trump and XI by Brazil and neighbors

The two Chinese Development Banks – the China Development Bank (CDB) and the China Export and Import Bank) – have lent more than $ 141 billion to Latin American countries since 2005, more than the World Bank, the BID (Inter -American Development Bank) and the Latin America Development Bank together.

For Europeans, therefore, China is a “rival in the race for essential raw materials.”

“The global transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles has increased the strategic importance of Latin America to China, especially due to its need for essential raw materials, such as lithium, copper and niobium,” the report says. Today, China is the main buyer of Latin America’s raw materials. In 2023, she was responsible for 34% of mineral exports in the region.

The point, however, is that of the 34 raw materials considered paramount by the EU, 25 are extracted in Latin America.

“Latin America, especially South America, is mainly rich in lithium and copper, which are essential for renewable energy technologies and for the production of ion-ion battery used in laptops, smartphones and hybrid and electric vehicles,” the Europeans say in the report.

UN (United Nations) projections indicate that by 2050 lithium demand could increase by over 1,500%. Only EU demand per lithium should increase 12 times by 2030 and 21 times by 2050.