G7 leaders announce plan to counter China's dominance of critical minerals
A new strategy to shore up critical mineral supply chains could have Western allies cooperating with Australia, India and South Korea in a bid to counter China 's dominance in the sector.
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The strategy announced Tuesday at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., did not explicitly mention China, but alluded to its use of export bans, controls and state subsidies to control supply chains and markets for rare earth elements and minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and copper.
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'Recognizing this threat to our economies, as well as various other risks to the resilience of our critical minerals supply chains, we will work together and with partners beyond the G7 to swiftly protect our economic and national security,' the G7 statement said.
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'This will include anticipating critical minerals shortages, coordinating responses to deliberate market disruption, and diversifying and onshoring, where possible, mining, processing, manufacturing and recycling.'
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The strategy will feature increasing investment, partnerships and infrastructure, including 'economic corridors' in emerging markets, to increase the supply and access to critical minerals.
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Ministers from the signatory countries will also create a roadmap before year-end that outlines plans for the creation of 'standards-based markets' for critical minerals to promote responsible extraction, processing and trade.
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'Immediate and scaled investment is required to secure future supply chains and ensure promising mining and processing projects overcome barriers such as delays in permitting and approval processes, market manipulation, and price volatility,' the group said.
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Just three producers, China, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), currently control 86 per cent of the global supply of critical minerals, up from 82 per cent in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency's latest outlook on critical minerals.
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