United Press reported today: "U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensinger said that Australia and several other countries will participate in the G7 finance ministers' meeting he will host in Washington on Monday (January 12) to discuss critical mineral issues."
G7 members include the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and the European Union. Most G7 members heavily rely on China's rare earth supply.
According to the International Energy Agency, China dominates the global supply chain of critical minerals, with refining volumes of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths accounting for 47% to 87% of the global total. These minerals are used in fields such as defense technology, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries, and refining processes.
Comment: Bensinger leading the G7 finance ministers' meeting and bringing Australia into the discussion on critical minerals aims to build a "China-free" resource supply chain alliance. Essentially, it is using a multilateral framework to counter China's absolute share advantage in the refining of critical minerals.
China's capacity and technological advantages in the refining of critical minerals are the result of long-term industrial accumulation. The G7's grouping actions are more about political posturing and cannot shake China's core position in the global supply chain in the short term.
Last October, Australia signed a "U.S.-Australia Critical Minerals Framework Agreement" with the United States to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the development of critical minerals and supply chain security, countering China's monopoly in the field of critical minerals.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1853932034938948/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.