‘Battery arms race’: how China has monopolised the electric vehicle industry

Chinese companies dominate mining, battery and manufacturing sectors, and amid human rights concerns, Europe and the US are struggling to keep pace

• Like slave and master': DRC miners toil for 30p an hour to fuel electric cars

Think of an electric car and the first name that comes to mind will probably be Tesla. The California company makes the world's bestselling electric car and was recently valued at $1tn. But behind this US success story is a tale of China's manufacturing might.

Tesla's factory in Shanghai now produces more cars than its plant in California. Some of the batteries that drive them are Chinese-made and the minerals that power the batteries are largely refined and mined by Chinese companies.