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US President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday (local time) hosted a Critical Minerals Ministerial event to counter China's dominance in the industry.
Officials from the Trump administration aim to establish a trade zone for critical minerals, which are crucial for producing almost everything, including smartphones, defence equipment, magnets in wind turbines, and electric vehicle (EV) motors.
Who attended the meeting?
The event was attended by 54 countries, including the UK, the European Union, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The delegates opined on the availability of and access to minerals critical to the manufacturing of crucial items such as computer chips and EV batteries, BBC reported.
What did the US say?
The mining and processing of such critical minerals, which also include rare earths, are led by China. However, in remarks released by the Trump administration, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance did not mention China by name and instead referred to the "foreign supply" of these minerals, adding that they flood the global markets, thereby making it difficult for countries with mineral deposits to secure the financing required to produce them.
David Copley, a special assistant to President Donald Trump, announced that they are heavily investing in mining-specific projects, adding that Washington will "deploy hundreds of billions of capital into the mining sector to get projects going".
A CNBC report states that after the event, the US government announced the signing of agreements with 11 countries, building on 10 similar deals signed over the last five months, with talks being completed with an additional 17 countries.
Trump announces 'Project Vault'
The Critical Minerals Ministerial event came days after Donald Trump announced the establishment of a critical mineral reserve, known as "Project Vault", worth almost $12 billion. Aimed at reducing Washington's dependence on China for rare earths and other key metals, the initiative will combine $2 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank. It aims to create a stockpile of critical minerals and rare earths, such as gallium and cobalt, Bloomberg reported.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said that the Project Vault aims to "ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortages". Further, the project will aim to procure and store the materials. Manufacturers will be permitted to tap into their existing material reserves provided they replace what they use, according to officials cited by Bloomberg.
Reset in US-China ties?
The event took place on the same day that Trump had a call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, which he described as "very positive".
Ahead of the meeting held by the US, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reaffirmed China's position on the issue of maintaining stability and security of global industrial and supply chains for critical minerals, according to a report by Xinhua news agency.
Lin said, ''China has always maintained that all countries need to follow the principles of the market economy and international economic and trade rules, step up communication and dialogue, jointly keep the industrial and supply chains stable and unimpeded, and promote the steady growth of the global economy."
Diplomatic ties between Beijing and Washington have been volatile since Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on almost every nation in the world. The matter escalated quickly with the two countries imposing reciprocal tariffs as high as 125%, and a potential trade war looming. However, a thaw appeared after officials from the two countries met in Geneva in May last year and agreed to bring down the reciprocal tariffs significantly.
However, tensions simmered again after China, in October, announced plans to widen its export controls to nearly all products, which included rare earth minerals. Terming it an "extraordinarily aggressive" stance, Trump announced the imposition of an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods.
Later, the two leaders met for the first time in six years in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in October. During the closed-door meeting, which lasted for over 90 minutes, the two finalized the details of a framework agreement, with Trump slashing down tariffs on Chinese goods to 47% from the previously announced 57%. The announcement came after Xi vowed to restrict the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to the US.
English (US) ·