The US is set to host more than 50 countries on Wednesday for talks in a push to weaken China’s persistent monopoly over critical minerals and boost the country’s unrestricted access to minerals.
The US-led global talks revolving around strategically-important critical minerals supply chains will come as President Donald Trump launched “Project Vault”, a creation of a critical mineral reserve backed by $12 billion funding both from private sources and the US Export-Import Bank.
Among the countries, India, South Korea, Germany, Australia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are scheduled to attend the meeting in Washington. However, the full list of countries has not been released yet.
The talks highlight US’ efforts to collaborate with allies, aiming to counter China’s dominance by implementing policy tools.
The upcoming discussion will revolve around several measures, such as exploring the new opportunities related to mining and processing outside China, aligning trade and investment incentives.
It also includes seeking different market interventions such as such as price floors, strategic stockpiles and export restrictions to reduce Beijing’s control over supply chains.
Moreover, according to the US Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, 11 more countries would be included in the trade club along with the US, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. The purpose of the club or coalition is to reduce reliance on China.
When it comes to the critical minerals monopoly, China possesses significant leverage.
According to the 2024 United States Geological Survey, 110 million tonnes of deposits were present globally. Among these reserves, China possesses 44m deposits.
The world’s second largest economy dominates global production along with an estimated 90-99 percent of global refining and processing capacity. China currently controls about 70% of rare earths mining and 90% of the processing of the materials.
Given tightening grip over the minerals, China has wielded influence through curbing exports and suppressing price, thereby stripping the countries of their manufacturing capacities used to make chips , advanced weapons, and semiconductors.
