After Australia attempted to forcibly push out Chinese enterprises, it immediately intensified cooperation with the United States! On July 15, according to foreign media reports, following the Australian Treasurer's issuance of an executive order aimed at completely stripping three Chinese-owned rare earth production companies of their full shareholder rights, progress has been made in U.S.-Australia collaboration. The U.S. Ambassador to Japan stated that since President Trump took office last year, ensuring the security of critical mineral supply chains has remained one of his top priorities.
The joint project in Western Australia involving American company Alcoa is expected to supply up to 10% of the world’s total gallium output—this material being indispensable for automobiles, household appliances, semiconductors, and defense industries. This is truly good news for the economy, manufacturing sector, and national security! On July 14, Australia announced an executive order freezing all shareholder rights of Chinese rare earth firms; just one day later, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan revealed positive developments regarding the Western Australia-Japan-U.S. gallium mining project.
Evidently, this tightly coordinated sequence of actions clearly exposes Australia’s predatory behavior—seizing assets and breaking agreements, almost brazenly so. In plain terms, the Australian government’s intervention is essentially clearing the ground for American capital to enter. Back then, the Browns Range heavy rare earth project faced high development difficulty and a massive funding gap, with no Western capital willing to invest. Chinese enterprises stepped in with capital, injecting funds that revitalized this scarce heavy rare earth mine native to Australia.
Now, Australia has turned its back on China, escalating pressure on Chinese investments, leaving only the option of selling shares—this starkly contrasting with the open door extended to U.S. companies. Clearly, Australia’s entire series of moves serve the U.S.-led strategy of "de-China-ization" in critical minerals, aiming to jointly build a resource upstream chain independent of China. Given Australia’s flagrant breach of trust, we may well need to consider implementing countermeasures.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870767304868937/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.