On February 8, the unveiling ceremony for China Salt Lake Industrial Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “China Salt Lake” was held in Xi’ning, Qinghai Province. Wu Xiaojun, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Qinghai Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Qinghai Provincial People’s Congress, and Chen Dexin, Party Group Secretary and Chairman of China Minmetals, jointly unveiled the plaque and delivered speeches. Zhuang Shuxin, Secretary General of the SASAC, and Liu Jun, Deputy Party Secretary and President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, also delivered speeches. Luo Dongchuan, Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China Qinghai Provincial Committee and Governor of Qinghai Province, hosted the ceremony.

In his speech, Wu Xiaojun, on behalf of the CPC Qinghai Provincial Committee and the People’s Government of Qinghai Province, congratulated the official establishment of China Salt Lake. He said that since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping had visited Qinghai three times and participated twice in the deliberations of the Qinghai delegation to the National People’s Congress, providing us with a grand blueprint for building a modernized new Qinghai. He also pointed out the high-quality development path for creating an ecological civilization highland and establishing Qinghai as a hub of salt lake industry and clean energy industry, a green organic agricultural and livestock products export area, and an international eco-tourism destination, especially setting the coordinates for the construction of a world-class salt lake industrial base. The establishment of China Salt Lake was a significant practice to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, a new benchmark for achieving high-quality development in the salt lake industry, and a new example of deepening central-local cooperation. It held milestone significance in the history of the development of Qinghai’s salt lakes, China’s salt lakes, and world salt lakes. Wu hoped that China Salt Lake would undertake the significant mission of ensuring resource and energy security, striving to become the “main force” in implementing national strategies. It would leverage the advantages of central-local cooperation, and become a solid foundation for advancing the development of the world-class salt lake industry. In addition, The CPC Qinghai Provincial Committee and the People’s Government of Qinghai Province would create a better environment and more favorable conditions for the development of China Salt Lake, jointly promoting the construction of a world-class salt lake industrial base.

In his speech, Chen Dexin said that the close cooperation between China Minmetals and Qinghai Province in jointly establishing China Salt Lake was an important practice to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions and accelerate the construction of a world-class salt lake industrial base. It was a strategic initiative to integrate resources from various parties, promote the high-quality development of the salt lake industry, and further strengthen the security of China’s food, energy, and resource supply. It also aligned with China Minmetals’ mission to enhance its core functions, improve its core competitiveness, and accelerate the construction of a world-class metal mining enterprise group. At this new starting point, China Minmetals would cherish the strong momentum of cooperation between the two parties, continue to make progress, and work together to elevate the development of China Salt Lake to new heights. The company would vigorously promote the “China Minmetals Family” philosophy, welcoming new members with open arms, and integrate China Salt Lake as an important part of China Minmetals’ resource map and a key pillar of its modern industrial system. This would strengthen the leadership, improve the industrial chain, and gather greater collective strength. By fully leveraging the advantages of the integrated industry chain, especially the strength of technological innovation, China Minmetals would plan, build, and operate a world-class salt lake industrial base, making it a “ballast stone” in national food security, a stabilizer for the new energy industry, and a driving force for high-end light metal materials.

Zhuang Shuxin said that the establishment of China Salt Lake marks a new starting point for building a world-class salt lake industrial base. He expressed hope that China Minmetals would seize the opportunity, innovate boldly, and strive to transform the new company into a world-class salt lake resource development enterprise, effectively supporting the high-quality economic and social development of Qinghai Province, and making new and greater contributions to a strong nation and the rejuvenation of the Chinese people.

Liu Jun said that the mission of building a world-class salt lake industrial base was both significant and honorable. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was willing to work hand in hand with China Minmetals and all parties in Qinghai Province to jointly advance the comprehensive utilization of Qinghai's salt lake resources to new heights, contributing more to ensuring the security of national strategic resources and advancing the Chinese path to modernization.

Zhu Kebing, Party Group Member and Senior Vice President of China Minmetals, as well as Chairman of China Salt Lake, expressed in his speech that China Salt Lake would live up to its responsibilities, honor its mission, and work tirelessly. The company would anchor its goals and forge ahead with determination, helping Qinghai Province build a world-class salt lake industrial base and assisting China Minmetals in becoming a globally competitive, world-class metals mining group.

Before the unveiling ceremony, Chen Dexin held a work meeting with Wu Xiaojun.

Wu Xiaojun welcomed Chen Dexin and his delegation and expressed gratitude for China Minmetals' long-term active participation and strong support for the economic and social development of Qinghai. He said that since the signing of the Master Cooperation Agreement on the Establishment of China Salt Lake Group with Qinghai SASAC and QSAIM in September last year, Qinghai Province attached great importance to the establishment of China Salt Lake Group. Together with China Minmetals, they efficiently and comprehensively advanced various tasks, addressing key challenges and obstacles, and ushering in the historic moment of today’s unveiling of China Salt Lake. Wu hoped that both sides would take this opportunity to maintain close communication and cooperation, continuing to deepen efforts to leverage China Salt Lake’s capacity advantages, enhance technological innovation, and accelerate integration and development, thus setting a new benchmark for central-local cooperation and establishing a new high ground for Qinghai's characteristic modern industrial system.

Chen Dexin expressed his gratitude to the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government for their long-standing strong support for China Minmetals. He said that China Minmetals regarded Qinghai as an important investment base and industrial hub for a long time, and the two sides engaged in deep cooperation, achieving fruitful results. Since the signing of the strategic cooperation framework agreement, the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, with a strong sense of political responsibility, broad strategic vision, and an open and inclusive attitude, placed their full trust in China Minmetals. They provided comprehensive and efficient assistance and support in the establishment of China Salt Lake. With joint efforts and cooperation, both sides achieved the promising results seen today. China Minmetals would continue to expand cooperation with Qinghai, jointly undertaking the honorable mission of accelerating the construction of a world-class salt lake industrial base and striving to build the world's most comprehensive China Salt Lake industrial group. He hoped both sides would further broaden the scope of cooperation, innovate in collaboration models, and establish a new, high-quality, sustainable, and distinctive central-local cooperation model.

Zhang Jinggang, Zhu Xiangfeng, and Liu Chao, the leaders from Qinghai Province, as well as Zhang Shouchuan, Senior Executive Vice President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Zhang Shouchuan, external directors and leaders of China Minmetals, including Si Zefu, Wang Jie, Hou Xiao, Zhang Zhenmin, Tian Wei, and Wang Xingquan, attended the event.

China Salt Lake is composed of three companies: Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd., Qinghai Huixin Asset Management Co., Ltd., and China Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd. It boasts a workforce of over 15,000 employees, with a registered capital of 10 billion yuan. China Minmetals holds 53 percent stake in the company, while Qinghai’s state-owned entities own the remaining 47 percent. The group’s production base includes Chaerhan Salt Lake, China’s largest and the world’s second-largest soluble potash-magnesium salt deposit, and Yiliping Salt Lake, a large magnesium sulfate sub-type salt comprehensive mineral deposit. Covering a mining area of nearly 4,060 square kilometers, the base possesses all mature potassium chloride processing technologies and leads globally in large-scale lithium extraction technology from salt lakes. China Salt Lake has an annual production capacity of 5.3 million metric tons of potash fertilizer, 58,000 metric tons of lithium salts, and millions of metric tons of salt lake chemical products, making it the largest potash and salt lake lithium production base in the country.