G7, Allies Meet To Discuss Ways To Reduce Chinese Rare Earth Dependency

Last Updated:January 13, 2026, 12:20 IST

G7, India, and others met in Washington led by Scott Bessent to discuss reducing reliance on rare earths from China and boosting resilient supply chains for critical minerals.

According to the International Energy Agency, China dominates the supply chain of key minerals, refining between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths. (Representative/AP)

The finance ministers of the G7 countries and other major economies, including India met in Washington to discuss ways to reduce dependency on rare earths from China.

The meeting, held on Monday, was convened by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and included finance ministers from G7 members Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and the US as well as officials from Australia, Mexico, South Korea and India.

Though no joint statement has been issued, the US Treasury said that Bessent sought “to discuss solutions to secure and diversify supply chains for critical minerals, especially rare earth elements". During the meeting, he expressed optimism that countries would pursue “prudent de-risking over decoupling" from China.

Reuters quoted Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama saying that there was “broad agreement on the need to swiftly reduce reliance on China for rare earths".

She said she had short-, medium- and long-term policy approaches for G7 and like-minded countries to bolster non-Chinese rare earth supplies.

“These include creating markets based on standards such as respect for labor conditions and human rights, as well as deploying a range of policy tools – support from public financial institutions, tax and financial incentives, trade and tariff measures, quarantine measures and minimum price setting," Katayama said. “I stressed the importance of committing to these measures."

After the meeting, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said the discussions included a potential rare-earths price floor and partnerships to boost supplies.

He, at the meeting, warned against an anti-China coalition and said: “What is very important to me is that we in Europe do not sit back. Neither complaining nor self-pity helps us, we have to become active."

At the meeting, India was represented by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

“US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent organised a ministerial meeting focused on resilience in the supply chain of critical minerals. As we all know, and especially in India, when the manufacturing sector is growing rapidly, especially electronics manufacturing, it’s very important for all the countries, including India, to have a resilient supply chain of critical minerals," Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Also Read: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Attends Critical Minerals Ministerial Meet In US

“In this meeting, participants from various countries discuss their experience, the steps that they are taking in making the supply chain resilient, especially technology for refining and processing the mineral ores so that high-quality critical minerals, especially the rare earth, permanent magnets can be secured in the long term in a sustainable manner. There were discussions around funding new projects. There were discussions around technology sharing between different countries," he added.

According to the International Energy Agency, China dominates the supply chain of key minerals, refining between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths. Meanwhile, the G7 nations, EU and those who attended the Monday’s meet account for 60% of global demand for critical minerals.

According to a release, noting that these supply chains have also become highly concentrated and vulnerable to disruption and manipulation, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday urged the attendees to increase their supply chain resilience and thanked them for their willingness to both learn from and work quickly with one another toward decisive action and lasting solutions.

This comes a week after China banned the export of items destined for Japan’s military that have civilian and military uses, including some critical minerals.

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