China: The United States and its allies are trying to reshape the world's supply chains, according to two Chinese resource experts, to reduce their reliance on China, so Beijing should be considered as "friendly" suppliers of critical minerals. Must tie up with.
In an excerpt published earlier this month in the prestigious journal Science and Technology Review, experts claimed these alliances could give China and its Belt and Road Initiative trading partners a stronger voice in negotiating trade agreements involving those minerals.
Controlling the risk of shortages of key minerals, creating a global trade network for key minerals that is conducive to China's resource security, and achieving a logical, effective and secure allocation of key minerals should be the main goals, he wrote.
In order to guarantee the security of the supply of critical minerals to China and the Allied countries, China must simultaneously ... Must focus.
The authors are based in the resource-rich region Ganzhou, where the state-owned China Rare Earth Group is located. Zhao Shen is from Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, and Wang Peng is from the Ganjiang Innovation Academy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Jiangxi.
The proposal is a component of a review of US policies regarding the availability of essential minerals over the years. It comes as the US works to strengthen its ties with Western democracies to compete with China on various fronts, including military and technology.
Washington's shift in priorities, according to Zhao and Wang, "from being solely oriented toward the security of supplies to meeting political and diplomatic needs" is reflected in this campaign.
China is an important player in the processing of minerals. According to the US Geological Survey, it is the top supplier to the US for 25 additional minerals as well as 16 minerals needed by state-of-the-art technologies.
Zhao and Wang claimed that because "the US and its Western allies dominate the global mineral resource management system," China's ability to capitalize on the strategic value of these important minerals was constrained.
The international system requires China to compare the prices it pays for most minerals to benchmarks set by the London Metal Exchange. Also, since most transactions are done in US dollars, the US has a particularly strong influence on prices.
He claimed that since these nations are dependent on Chinese imports for their needs, China is the main cause of security risks in the region. Additionally, he claimed that US President Joe Biden had resumed a "coalition-focused strategy" to exert more pressure on China within the framework of the international mineral regime.
Since at least the 1930s, the US has been aware of its vulnerability in terms of critical mineral supplies, and has established a sophisticated system for assessing supply risks. However, China is yet to follow suit.
The authors caution that it could also jeopardize China's economic growth, especially at a time when the country is working hard to advance its technological know-how and solidify its position as a major global manufacturer. .
According to Zhao and Wang, disruption in the supply of important minerals now poses a threat to Chinese economic development. "China's demand for many important minerals is increasing and its dependence on foreign supplies of critical materials is also increasing," he said.
Hebei's natural resources department said in April that China was dependent on imports of bauxite, copper concentrate and iron ore. The authors did not specify which resources China is dependent on from abroad.
The world's largest producer of iron ore is Australia, a close ally of the US, while some of the largest copper mines are located in South American countries such as Chile and Peru. The largest bauxite deposits in the world, used to make aluminum, are found in politically unstable Guinea.
The US has stepped up efforts to develop a domestic mineral supply chain in an effort to reduce its dependence on China as its strategic rivalry with that country grows.
The White House announced last week that a US$675 million critical materials research program was seeking public input. The program, if approved, is projected to increase US investment in these supply chains, including fundamental materials science and geology research as well as the commercialization of new technologies.
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