※[Global Morning Briefing] summarizes global news delivered by Seoul Economic Daily.
Chinese Cars Overtake Japan in Europe Too… BYD Surge Puts Exports on Track to Top 10 Million
China is projected to become the first country in the world to reach 10 million vehicle exports this year. This comes just three years after it overtook Japan in 2023 to become the world's largest auto exporter. Cracks are already appearing, as Chinese car market share surpassed that of Japanese cars in Europe for the first time last month. Chinese electric-vehicle makers, facing a domestic slump, are focusing on overseas markets with cost competitiveness and technological strength, rapidly shaking up the global auto market, analysts say.
Global consulting firm AlixPartners projected that China's auto exports this year would reach approximately 10 million units, up 41% from 7.1 million last year. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's auto exports from January to May this year totaled 4.05 million units, up 63% from the same period a year earlier. Among them, exports of new-energy vehicles such as electric cars surged 110% to 1.83 million units.
If the projection materializes, China would not only become the first country in the world to reach 10 million vehicle exports but would also widen its gap with Japan, the second-largest exporter. Previously, China recorded 4.91 million exports in 2023, surpassing Japan (4.21 million) for the first time.
China is standing out in the European market. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, sales by five Chinese companies — BYD, SAIC, Geely, Chery and Leapmotor — in Europe last month rose 65% from a year earlier to 138,410 units, overtaking Japanese cars (130,424 units) for the first time.
US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said, "We will continue consultations until we resolve the trade deficit with Canada and Mexico and the shortcomings of the agreement." The US decision does not immediately scrap the agreement. However, it is seen as symbolic in that the formal process of terminating the agreement has begun. If the three countries fail to unanimously agree on an extension going forward, the agreement is expected to automatically terminate in 10 years. Until then, the three countries will hold negotiations each year.
Amid China's Tungsten Blockade, US Awakens Korean Mine Dormant for 32 Years
The United States has opened the way for renewed production at a shuttered Korean mine to secure tungsten, a strategic mineral whose exports China has cut off.
The New York Times (NYT) analyzed the significance of the Sangdong mine's reopening in an article titled "A Korean Mine at the Center of America's Tungsten Mining."
According to the NYT, US tungsten specialist Almonty Industries resumed mining at the Sangdong mine in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, in March this year for the first time in 32 years. Almonty said the Sangdong mine holds 58 million tons of tungsten, the largest reserve for a single mine in the world. Almonty expects mining to be possible for about 45 years along tunnels extending more than 3 kilometers underground.
Of the 2,600 tons of tungsten produced annually, 2,100 tons will be exported to the United States under contract, and the company plans to produce a total of 4,600 tons of tungsten oxide annually through future plant expansion. While smaller than China, which produces 67,000 tons each year, the output is deemed sufficient to leap to second place in global production at once. Vietnam, currently in second place, produces 3,400 tons annually, and Russia, in third, produces 2,000 tons.
Tungsten is a strategic mineral essential to advanced industries including semiconductors, precision machining, construction, displays and missiles.
China caused a price surge by implementing sweeping tungsten export controls last year, and it is further strengthening its market dominance, recently securing mining rights to the Bogutty mine in Kazakhstan.
OpenAI Proposes Giving Trump Administration 5% Stake
OpenAI, the operator of ChatGPT, reportedly proposed giving the administration of US President Donald Trump a 5% stake. The move is interpreted as an attempt to build a friendly relationship with the government as regulation of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry has recently tightened.
The Financial Times (FT), citing sources, reported that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made the proposal to the Trump administration. The sources said they argued that not only OpenAI but also other US AI companies should give away stakes. OpenAI cited the "Alaska Permanent Fund," which invests state oil revenues in stocks and pays dividends to the state government and residents, as a model. Because it effectively takes the form of donating a stake, it remains uncertain whether other companies will join.
The proposal is interpreted as an attempt to reverse worsening public opinion about AI.
President Trump previously publicly criticized Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and demanded his resignation, but changed his stance to active support after the US government acquired a 10% stake in Intel. US companies that have observed this pattern are funding President Trump's policy projects to build friendly relationships with the government.
Trump Refuses Extension… Will North American Free Trade Pact Be Scrapped in 10 Years?
The administration of US President Donald Trump formally notified on Monday that it would not extend the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The USMCA, which took effect on July 1, 2020, replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect in 1994. The signatory countries — the United States, Canada and Mexico — were required to notify in writing this year, six years after it took effect, whether they would extend it, and the United States expressed its refusal. Canada and Mexico, by contrast, had already stated that they wished to extend it.
