GEM Co Ltd, the listed group involved in urban mining - the recycling of metal, old electronics, batteries and catalytic converters that would otherwise be left to decompose in landfill - said it sees great opportunities in lithium battery reuse as China's new energy car sales rapidly expand.

"Although the economy is somewhat cooling down, one thing keeps growing - waste," said Xu Kaihua, chairman of GEM.

Xu said China has around 6 million metric tons of electronic waste. Every year, the country generates 24 billion waste batteries.