China's Resource Revolution: Uranium, Lithium, and Oil Redefine Global Power
Over the Past Three Years, Massive Discoveries and Tech Breakthroughs in Strategic Minerals and Fuels Have Slashed China's Import Dependencies, Challenged Western Dominance
While the U.S. Seventh Fleet cruises the South China Sea, Chinese geological teams are already drilling past 4,500 meters in those high-altitude plateaus.
As Australia's lithium mining heavyweights pull the strings on the market, the lithium mica out of Yichun in China's Jiangxi province is shaking up the entire global supply chain.
While OPEC+ haggles over production cuts to prop up prices, the blaze from China's "Deep Sea One" platform in the South China Sea is ushering in a bold new chapter of energy independence.
Over the past 3 years, the explosive growth of uranium, lithium, and oil and gas—three critical strategic resources—has been rewriting the fundamental rules of global energy geopolitics. These discoveries are set to shape the future of national energy security.
Uranium Ore: Reshaping the Nuclear Fuel Supply Landscape to Lay the Groundwork for Advancing Nuclear Energy Development
For any modern nation, uranium isn't just the "fuel" for nuclear power plants—it's the backbone of strategic nuclear deterrence. Not long ago, China relied on imports for 80% of its uranium, leaving it vulnerable to global price swings and supply disruptions.
Now, the "National Uranium One" project in the Ordos Basin, uncovering 2.8 million tons of uranium—1.8 times the total amount China discovered over the past 60 years. Using cutting-edge digital twin technology, the mining system slashed the typical eight-year construction timeline for uranium mines to just 11 months. This "China speed" has left global mining giants stunned.
Even more critical, seven major uranium mining hubs in places like Jingchuan in Gansu and Yili in Xinjiang have catapulted China's uranium reserves from eighth in the world to number one, accounting for 23.6% of global known reserves. So much for the Western narrative that "China's nuclear plants will grind to a halt due to uranium shortages."
According to the Department of Energy's 2024 Nuclear Fuel Security Assessment, America's domestic uranium production only covers 9.7% of what nuclear power plants need, with 87% coming from imports out of places like Kazakhstan and Canada.
China's rolling out this new sodium-cooled fast reactor technology that ramps up uranium efficiency by 60 times. What that boils down to is our current U.S. reserves would only keep the nuclear sector running for about 15 years, while China's stash could hold out for over 120. On top of that, China have got a full, self-contained setup covering everything from mining the ore to dealing with the waste.
Lithium Ore: Ending Australia's "Lithium Hegemony" and Reshaping the Clean Energy Competition
Lithium, often called "white petroleum," is the key raw material powering batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage. For years, Australia and Chile had a monopoly on about 70% of the world's lithium supplies, leaving China in a passive position—dominating the downstream manufacturing side but lagging way behind on upstream resources.
The discovery of that whopping 640,000-ton lithium deposit in Jiajika, out in western Sichuan, is really just the kickoff—for a shake-up in China's lithium resource scene. Over in Jiangxi's Yichun, have slashed the cost of extracting lithium from mica down to between $7,500 and $8,300 per ton. Meanwhile, in Hunan's Linwu area, producing battery-grade lithium carbonate with a purity of 99.7%—that's even better than international benchmarks.
All this directly triggered a drop in Australia's lithium exports during the first half of 2024, sending Pilbara Minerals' stock plunging 12% in a single trading day. China's self-sufficiency in lithium has skyrocketed from 10% back in 2020 to 33% now, while reliance on Aussie concentrate imports has dropped from 90% in 2020 to around 60% this year. That's taken a big load off when it comes to dealing with those sky-high concentrate prices.
The U.S. Clean Energy Alliance report points out that China's edge in lithium isn't just about raw reserves—it's also about a serious tech gap.
In Qinghai's salt lakes, they're using an "electrodialysis membrane" technique that boosts lithium extraction rates from 40% to 85%. Meanwhile, CATL's "lithium-ion sieve" tech is pushing lithium recovery from used batteries past 95%.
Compare that to the U.S., where the Thacker Pass lithium mine has been stuck in environmental lawsuits for 12 years and still isn't operational. Even if it gets going, its planned output of 60,000 tons a year is less than a third of what a single project from China's Ganfeng Lithium can churn out.
Oil and Gas: Deep-Sea Tech Boosts Supply Security, RMB Settlements Challenge the Petrodollar
Oil and gas are the bedrock of national energy security. For years, China's "oil-poor, gas-scarce" situation left it vulnerable to wild swings in global oil prices and the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.
But things have shifted big-time in the last three years. From tapping into 500 billion cubic meters of deep coalbed methane in the Ordos Basin to unlocking an extra 100 billion cubic meters at the Lingshui 36-1 gas field in the South China Sea. Add to that the Changqing oilfield holding steady at 60 million tons of oil and gas equivalent for five straight years, plus a massive 1 billion-ton shale oil breakthrough at the Qingcheng oilfield. Unconventional oil and gas development in China is hitting its stride, entering a "golden era."
The Xijiang 30-2 oilfield in the South China Sea, using a "searching for oilfields around oilfields" strategy, has boosted its marginal reserves tenfold, hitting a peak daily output of 3,600 tons. Onshore oil and gas reserve-to-production ratio (R/P) has climbed to 15:1—well above the international red line of 10:1—massively strengthening energy security coefficient.
This shift is a big deal globally. China's moving from being the "world's biggest oil and gas importer" to a major player shaping the global energy supply-demand landscape.
On one hand, the steady rise in China's domestic oil and gas production has cut its reliance on foreign supplies (crude oil import dependency dropped to 68% in 2024, down 5 points from 2020), shielding the economy from U.S. "energy weapon" tactics like sanctioning tankers or manipulating oil prices. On the other hand, through its Belt and Road energy partnerships, China's shifting Middle East and Central Asian oil and gas imports toward a "yuan settlement + long-term contract" model, chipping away at the dollar's dominance in global energy trade.
The U.S. rode the shale gas revolution to become the world's top oil producer, aiming to reshape global geopolitics through "energy independence". But China's approach—self-reliant breakthroughs paired with diverse supply chains—sidesteps the "high pollution, high cost, short lifespan" drawbacks of U.S. shale development (China's deep coalbed methane and shale oil extraction costs are just 60% of America's). By leveraging "intelligent oilfields" and "digital reservoir" tech, China's boosting efficiency and building a more sustainable energy security model.
Looking ahead, if China's oil and gas self-sufficiency stabilizes above 80%, the U.S.'s traditional strategy of using energy exports to sway allies and rivals could lose its edge.
Against the backdrop of U.S.-China rivalry, the rise of these three resource sectors—lithium, oil and gas, and uranium—has not only freed China from the trap of "resource-dependent" growth but also secured strategic resource control power on par with the world's biggest economy.
Western countries are taking measures. The U.S. Congress passed the Critical Minerals Security Act, banning lithium imports from China's Xinjiang region. Australia's jacking up lithium export tariffs by 300%. And the International Atomic Energy Agency is launching "special inspections" on China's uranium enrichment facilities. These moves make one thing clear: control over resources is control over strategic survival.
The years 2022 to 2025 will go down as a pivotal shift in global energy power. Resource development in the East is shaking up the dollar-dominated energy system. Every time resource is tapped strengthens the foundation of strategic security.
This energy race shows that in the 21st century, geological exploration is just as crucial as military might.