CATL cutting back on production of Lithium from lepidolite is exactly what I was predicting, but if truth be told I didn't realize it would be only 1 day after my prediction.  The negative profit for Chinese lithium miners was first noted here by Pavel.  He brought up a very important point.  There is no immediate economic gain for China when its lithium mines put out a product that costs more to make than it sells for in the market.

In Depth from CNA had an article from 6 September that started out with the following paragraph:

"Last week, two senior US lawmakers asked the Pentagon to add Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, (CATL) to a list of companies that cannot receive US military contracts, because of its alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The company defended itself, claiming CATL "is not controlled by the Chinese government." But across the private sector in China, the distinction between the state and private firms has become blurred over the past decade. Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has methodically pursued a policy of expanded control and oversight of the private sector. Today, the party has a much greater ability to monitor and influence the decision-making of private Chinese firms. Such influence has profound implications for the United States and other Western governments seeking to recalibrate their economic relationship with Beijing."

I highlighted and boldfaced what I thought was one of the most important sentences in the above quote.  The distinction in China under Xi Jinping has gradually become "blurred" regarding SOE companies (State Owned Enterprise) vs Private companies.

Chinese Communist Party Moves Inside China’s Private Sector | CNA

See the full article for a more detailed analysis of the distinction vs non distinction in China between SOE and non SOE.  The two are no longer so "distinct" and it appears that the concept of SOE vs non SOE is more rapidly merging into one entity instead of two.

Okiedo