The Government Work Report stated that over the past year, China’s development moved toward the new and the better, demonstrating vigorous vitality. New quality productive forces developed steadily, with abundant achievements in scientific and technological innovation; the R&D and application of artificial intelligence, biomedicine, robotics, quantum technology, and other fields were at the global forefront. New breakthroughs were made in independent chip R&D; Tianwen-2 embarked on its “star-chasing” journey; the large-scale application of BeiDou was comprehensively expanded; construction began on the hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River; the first domestically built electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier, the Fujian, was officially commissioned; and domestically developed large models led the global open-source ecosystem. The industrial structure continued to be optimized: the value added of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing grew by 9.4 and 9.2, respectively; the production of industrial robots and integrated circuits increased by 28 and 10.9, respectively; annual NEV production exceeded 16 million units; and EV charging facilities surpassed 20 million. Energy consumption per unit of GDP fell by 5.1, and ecological and environmental quality continued to improve.

SMM Nickel News, March 5: Macro and Market Updates: (1) The Government Work Report stated that the main expected development targets for 2026 were: economic growth of 4.5%-5%, with efforts in actual work to achieve better results; a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5%, with more than 12 million new urban jobs; a CPI increase of around 2%; resident income growth in step with economic growth; a basically balanced balance of payments; grain production of around 1.4 trillion jin; and a reduction of around 3.8% in CO2 emissions per unit of GDP. (2) In outlining the government’s tasks for 2026, the Government Work Report proposed strengthening anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition efforts, reinforcing rigid constraints in fair competition reviews, and taking a comprehensive approach using measures such as capacity regulation, standards guidance, price enforcement, and quality supervision to thoroughly address “involution-style” competition and foster a sound market ecosystem. It also called for deepening pilot programs for comprehensive reforms in the market-oriented allocation of factors, and expanding the pilot scope to include more eligible regions. Spot Market: On March 5, SMM #1 refined nickel prices fell by 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In terms of spot premiums, the average premium for Jinchuan #1 refined nickel was 6,650 yuan/mt, down 250 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; electrodeposited nickel from major domestic brands ranged from -300 to 400 yuan/mt. Futures Market: The most-traded SHFE nickel 2605 contract opened higher and then maintained a fluctuating trend, closing the morning session at 137,580 yuan/mt, up 0.65%. With a notable recovery in macro sentiment today, nickel prices rebounded. In the short term, nickel prices are expected to fluctuate upward, and the most-traded SHFE nickel contract may trade in the range of 135,000-143,000 yuan/mt.