China's nickel ore imports soared by 67%, and its strategic reserves exceeded 100,000 tons. China and Russia have joined hands to build a land passage, and the trains in Siberia have shattered the illusion of the blockade - this is not only an economic account, but also a life-and-death game. While the US military was still inspecting cargo ships in the South China Sea, China-Europe freight trains fully loaded with nickel ore from Kazakhstan had already crossed the border, entered Lanzhou Land Port, and been transferred to the non-stop smelting furnaces in Jinchuan, Gansu Province.

In the autumn of 2024, the first special train carrying Russian nickel ore arrived in Gansu Province, with the unloading volume being three times that of traditional sea transportation. The ice and snow on the container had not yet completely melted, but the smelting furnace was already emitting blue smoke.

The latest data from China's customs shows that the monthly nickel ore imports soared to 1.5352 million tons in March 2025! It has been revealed that these laterite nickel ores are sufficient to operate at full capacity for three months. Meanwhile, the giant reserve warehouse in Jinchuan, Gansu Province, is welcoming the 31st batch of nickel ingots to be stored. Within seven months, 100,000 tons of refined nickel, shining with the cold light of metal, quietly lay in the strategic warehouse. And this means it can withstand the consumption of the entire industry for half a year!

Last year, Wall Street investment banks were still advocating "immediate production and zero inventory", but now they can only remain silent when looking at China's nickel reserve data. Western analysts are puzzled: Why is China still hoarding goods on a large scale when market prices are falling? They will never understand the reserve philosophy and dual-track logic of the mysterious East: buying low and selling high to subsidize the national Treasury is an economic account, while dealing with the blockade of Malacca is a matter of life and death.

These cold figures have once again made the Pentagon's 17 attempts to "blockade the Strait of Malacca" a joke.