In Search of Aluminum: China’s Role in the Mekong Region

The document examines China's 'Going Global' strategy to secure natural resources, highlighting its focus on bauxite in the Mekong region. It details the roles of major Chinese firms like Chinalco and Chalco, the regulatory challenges in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and the significant energy and environmental risks associated with aluminum smelting and mining, particularly the threat of red mud contamination in transboundary river basins.

• China's 'Going Global' (or 'Going Out') strategy, initiated via the 10th Five Year Plan (2001–05), aims to meet growing domestic demand for natural resources by subsidizing overseas investments and acquisitions.
• China is a dominant global force in the aluminum market; in 2007, its alumina output was 19.46 million tons (25% of world total) and its electrolytic aluminum output was 12.56 million tons (32.8% of world total).
• The Mekong region is a strategic bauxite source for China due to its proximity and resource abundance. Vietnam has the highest potential with an estimated 5.4 billion tons of bauxite, 98% of which is in the Central Highlands.
• Chinese investment in the region is characterized by 'soft power' and infrastructure promises, such as improving roads in southern Laos and proposing a railway from Vietnam's Central Highlands to the sea.
• Aluminum smelting is energy-intensive and currently economically unviable in Laos because the required electricity price of 2.5–3.5 U.S. cents/kilowatt is significantly lower than the current selling price of 5–6 U.S. cents/kilowatt.
• Bauxite mining poses severe environmental risks, most notably the generation of alkaline 'red mud' which threatens the water quality of the transboundary Sekong River and the livelihoods of thousands of people.
• Regulatory frameworks in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam are characterized by bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of public information, and minimal government capacity to enforce environmental impact assessments (EIAs).

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2009). In Search of Aluminum: China’s Role in the Mekong Region. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/in_search_of_aluminum_brief.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. In Search of Aluminum: China’s Role in the Mekong Region. 2009. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/in_search_of_aluminum_brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=In Search of Aluminum: China’s Role in the Mekong Region |date=2009 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/in_search_of_aluminum_brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2009search, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{In Search of Aluminum: China’s Role in the Mekong Region}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2009}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/in_search_of_aluminum_brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }