The impact of China's import ban on global copper scrap flow network and the domestic copper sustainability

Copper is widely used in electronic appliances, transportation equipment, industrial equipment, organic chemistry, medicine, alloys, etc. China is the largest consumer and importer of refined copper. Yet China relies heavily on imports and secondary use of scrap copper resources to meet its demand for copper; ∼60% of its copper is imported. In this study, the copper supply in China was analyzed, based on the impact of China's policy changes on copper imports and the utilization of recycled copper. As China's waste import policies become more stringent, the total amount of copper scrap imported to China dropped sharply, from 4.51 Mt (2012) to 1.35 Mt (2019). China's waste import policy will also affect the international copper trade and have an impact on the world's copper material flow, especially for scrap copper. Under the influence of China's ban, China's major copper scrap importing countries are gradually changing from developed countries (the United States, Japan, etc.) to developing countries (Thailand, Malaysia, etc.). China is in a stage of rapid economic development, with frequent replacement of copper products, and the recycling potential of scrap copper is enormous. At the same time, ore mining is consuming more energy and producing more pollution. Therefore, under the impact of China's import ban, reducing imports and increasing domestic copper scrap utilization can not only improve China's self-sufficiency in regard to copper, but also save energy and reduce emissions, avoiding environmental pollution. Domestic recycled copper will become China's main sources of copper in the future.