Riding on the wind of "lithium" to break through the situation and go global - Yichun Lithium Battery Industry in Jiangxi Province is deeply embedded in the global supply chain
In recent years, the global energy structure has been deeply adjusted, and the new energy industry has flourished. Lithium ore has become a globally recognized key strategic mineral. In this context, Yichun City in Jiangxi Province, relying on abundant lithium mica resources, has built a complete industrial chain from lithium mining, lithium salt extraction, battery cell manufacturing to energy storage integration and recycling. Currently, with the accelerated gathering of local leading enterprises, the import of lithium ore raw materials, export trade of lithium battery materials and power batteries are becoming increasingly active. The Yichun lithium battery industry has been deeply embedded in the global supply chain, and its resource advantages are accelerating the transformation into competitive advantages in foreign trade.
To assist the local lithium battery industry in going global, Yichun Customs under Nanchang Customs closely coordinates local industrial planning, closely tracks global trends in lithium resources and new energy markets, focuses on targeted measures in key links, and fully safeguards the high-quality development of the industry. According to statistics, in the first seven months of this year, the import and export value of lithium battery related products under regulation reached 2.26 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.7%.
Formula pricing standard for raw material clearance
Recently, in the workshop of Jiangxi Special Motor Co., Ltd., the automated production line is running at high speed, and bags of imported lithium pyroxene ore are fed into the roasting furnace by conveyor belts. The production parameters are jumping in real time on the central control screen. While production is booming, the company's customs officer Gao Min still has one final step to follow up on - due to fluctuations in international market prices and differences in ore quality, the final settlement price for this batch of raw materials has not yet been determined. The price declared for import is only a temporary price calculated based on the formula agreed upon by the buyer and seller. According to customs regulations, the final settlement invoice must be obtained within 6 months to confirm the price. This is a common scenario of "formula pricing" in cross-border trade of spodumene.
China has the world's leading technology for extracting lithium from ores, and Jiangxi is an important lithium salt production and processing base in the world. With the rapid development of Yichun's lithium battery industry and the continuous increase in lithium salt smelting capacity, imported spodumene has become a key upstream raw material to support the stable operation of the local industrial chain. Due to fluctuations in international market conditions, differences in ore quality and moisture content, it is difficult to accurately price imported spodumene in the first place, so formula pricing is widely used. The so-called formula pricing refers to the pricing method in which the buyer and seller, in the contract signed for the sale of goods within the territory of the People's Republic of China, do not agree on a specific and clear value of the goods price, but determine the settlement price of the goods using the agreed pricing formula. This approach is in line with the laws of commodity trading, but it imposes higher requirements on enterprise declaration and customs supervision.
To ensure the stability of the lithium resource supply chain, Yichun Customs dynamically tracks the price trend of spodumene in the market, assigns dedicated personnel to follow up and connect with key enterprises' import plans, and fully guides enterprises in handling formula pricing filing and standardized customs declaration forms, effectively alleviating the pressure of compliance declaration for enterprises and stabilizing import expectations. In response to the practical difficulties faced by enterprises, such as the urgent need for materials and tight funds, the customs adhere to both supervision and service, innovate and launch a combination of convenient measures such as "advance declaration+release before inspection+release upon inspection" and "ship side direct delivery", and promote tax guarantee reform based on enterprises, simplify the guarantee process, achieve "one guarantee for multiple uses, circular use, and nationwide use", minimize capital occupation, and allow enterprises to fully enjoy policy dividends.
Thanks to the policy guidance of the customs, our formula pricing declaration has been standardized, the pressure on guarantee funds has been effectively alleviated, and the smooth clearance of raw materials has been ensured, which has effectively supported the stable operation of the production line, "said Gao Min.
According to statistics, in the first seven months of this year, Yichun Customs supervised the import of 122400 tons of spodumene, a year-on-year increase of 1.6 times.
Precise supervision strengthens the safety bottom line
Metal lithium, passivated lithium aluminum alloy and other key materials for lithium batteries are important categories for Yichun's lithium battery product exports. Due to the lively physical and chemical properties of this type of material product, it belongs to hazardous chemicals, with high safety control standards and strict international transportation conditions. It has high professional requirements for packaging compliance, safety labeling, and accompanying documents.
To this end, Yichun Customs has refined regulatory measures based on the regulatory characteristics of lithium battery hazardous chemicals, formulated a special inspection element list according to the classification of commodity names, and clarified the physical and chemical characteristics, compliance packaging specifications, inspection and verification points, and on-site inspection operation rules of each type of product item by item. It has unified the regulatory scale of similar products, achieved standardization and normalization of midstream lithium battery hazardous chemical inspection, and built a solid export safety bottom line from the regulatory end. At the same time, relying on activities such as the "Customs Chief's Policy Door to Door", we provide "one-on-one" technical guidance for enterprises around key links such as identification of dangerous goods packaging usage and lithium battery transportation requirements, helping them accurately align with international standards, complete packaging selection and compliance rectification, and integrate safety supervision requirements throughout the entire process.
In addition, focusing on the practical difficulties of enterprise declaration, the customs also systematically sorted out the list of identification materials for the export of hazardous chemicals and their packaging use, clearly listing the complete set of accompanying materials, filling standards and submission requirements, and accurately guiding enterprises to prepare materials and standardize declaration according to the list; And create standardized declaration templates, unify declaration criteria, effectively solve common problems such as scattered application materials, missing requirements, and reporting deviations for enterprises, and reduce document error rates from the source.
The guidance from the customs was very meticulous, helping us become the third lithium battery industry chain enterprise in Yichun to pass AEO certification. ”Liu Jinlan, the person in charge of customs affairs at Fengxin Ganfeng Lithium Industry Co., Ltd., said, "Especially in the export supervision process, customs provides full process guidance around packaging identification, declaration compliance, etc., helping us build a solid safety bottom line and giving us more confidence in winning overseas orders
Smart regulation accelerates the overseas expansion of lithium batteries
In the production workshop of Yichun Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., after batches of lithium batteries are packaged, the staff immediately collect image information such as packaging appearance and danger signs, and submit the declaration online through the lithium battery packaging intelligent supervision system. After automatic comparison and verification by the intelligent algorithm of the system, this batch of goods is exempt from on-site inspection and quickly obtains the "Identification Results Form for the Use of Outbound Dangerous Goods Transport Packaging".
Since being approved as a national high-tech industrialization base for lithium-ion new energy at the end of 2009, the Yichun Economic Development Zone Lithium New Energy Industry Base has attracted a group of key enterprises in the industrial chain, such as Yichun Times and Guoxuan High tech, to gather and develop. With the accelerated development of global green and low-carbon industries, the demand for overseas lithium batteries continues to rise, and the export orders of enterprises are increasing, which puts higher demands on customs clearance efficiency. Under the traditional mode, the on-site verification process is complex, requiring strict adherence to the safety bottom line of dangerous goods transportation and meeting the practical needs of enterprises for rapid shipment, which has become an urgent problem to be solved in the rapid development of the industry.
To ensure the safe and efficient export of lithium batteries, Yichun Customs has fully implemented the facilitation measures of "scheduled inspection, inspection upon report, and immediate release", setting up a dedicated window for exporting lithium batteries and a 24-hour appointment channel. At the same time, eligible enterprises can join the pilot program of "Intelligent Supervision of Export Lithium Battery Packaging", declare in advance through the intelligent supervision system, and then undergo online pre examination and intelligent comparison by customs. Compliant goods can be exempted from on-site inspection and released directly. In addition, relying on the system, the "Identification Results Form for the Use of Outbound Dangerous Goods Transport Packaging" can be issued online, and enterprises can obtain the certificate without leaving their homes, effectively reducing customs clearance time.
According to statistics, since the pilot of "Intelligent Supervision of Export Lithium Battery Packaging" in July 2025, Yichun Customs has inspected and released more than 11000 pieces of goods with a value of 168 million yuan, reducing the inspection time for a single batch of goods by nearly 70%.
Lithium batteries are surging, chasing dreams worldwide. Next, Yichun Customs will continue to focus on the local lithium battery industry chain, continuously strengthen supervision, optimize services, further improve practical and efficient service measures, escort lithium battery products to sail overseas, and continuously inject customs momentum into the high-quality development of local characteristic industries.