The U.S. Accelerates Efforts to Reduce Dependence on China for Rare Earths

WASHINGTON – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will urge the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations and several partners to step up efforts to reduce dependence on strategic minerals from China as he hosts a meeting with about a dozen senior financial officials on Monday, according to a senior U.S. official.

The meeting, beginning with a working dinner on Sunday, includes finance ministers or senior officials from G7 economies, the European Union, Australia, India, South Korea, and Mexico. The group currently accounts for approximately 60% of global demand for strategic minerals.

A U.S. official said that “urgency is the central theme of today’s discussions”, emphasizing that this is a major task involving many dimensions and multiple countries, and that “we truly need to move faster.”

Bessent has pushed for a dedicated meeting on the issue since the G7 summit last June in Canada, where he raised the rare earth issue with leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and the European Union. At that time, leaders agreed on an action plan to safeguard supply chains and support economic development, but U.S. officials say implementation has been slow.

Except for Japan — which was heavily impacted when China abruptly cut off supplies of strategic minerals in 2010 — other G7 members remain heavily dependent on Chinese supply, as Beijing considers imposing stricter export controls.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China currently dominates the strategic minerals supply chain, refining between 47% and 87% of materials such as copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths — essential inputs for defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy, batteries, and industrial processing.

U.S. officials said the country may issue a statement following the meeting, but it is unlikely that specific coordinated actions will be agreed upon immediately. Washington is positioning itself as a leader, sharing its action framework and prepared to move forward with partners that feel a similar sense of urgency.

The United States signed an agreement with Australia in October to counter China’s dominance in strategic minerals, including a project pipeline worth $8.5 billion. The agreement leverages Australia’s plan to build a strategic reserve, supplying metals vulnerable to disruption such as rare earths and lithium.

U.S. officials also stressed that while progress has been made, much work remains to be done, and the issue is far from fully resolved.