Analysis from the perspective of supply and demand balance, China's nickel metal in 2019 still has a supply gap of at least 70,000 tons to 80,000 tons (actual data may be around 170,000 tons). Based on the average new demand of 75,000 tons, the stainless steel industry contributes approximately 65,000 tons of new demand, and other industries contribute approximately 10,000 tons of new demand.

From this it can be seen that China should strengthen the recycling and utilization of nickel metal resources, all the scraps in the production and processing of stainless steel, and the classified recycling of waste stainless steel products. The harmless disposal of waste slag and waste acid in the production of stainless steel will be highly concerned. Green manufacturing in the stainless steel industry will become an effective way to reuse nickel metal resources, which can effectively reduce nickel's external dependence.

In addition, the proportion of China's installed capacity of high-nickel ternary materials has increased significantly, which shows that the trend of high-nickel ternary battery irreversible. The strong demand for ternary battery materials in China will become the main driving force behind China's new nickel demand after 2020. With the oversupply of stainless steel production capacity in China, stainless steel's contribution to the new demand for nickel will gradually decrease.