Monday | June 16, 2025
G7 Leaders Outline Strategy to Secure Critical Mineral Supplies Amid Rising China Tensions
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations provisionally agreed on Monday to a comprehensive strategy aimed at securing the supply of critical minerals vital to modern industries and national security. According to a draft communique reviewed by Reuters, the plan is designed to bolster their economies, reduce vulnerabilities in global supply chains, and guard against market manipulation — particularly in light of recent Chinese export restrictions.
The draft statement, which had not yet received final approval from U.S. President Donald Trump at the time, emphasizes the importance of ensuring that global minerals markets reflect the true costs of responsible mining, processing, and trade. It underlines the need to move away from exploitative or opaque practices that distort fair competition and endanger long-term sustainability.
The urgency behind the G7 initiative follows China’s April decision to impose new limits on the export of a wide range of critical minerals and high-performance magnets. These materials are indispensable for a variety of industries — including electric vehicle production, advanced computing, renewable energy systems, and defense technologies. The Chinese restrictions caused global supply disruptions and raised alarm among Western governments and manufacturers who rely heavily on Beijing for access to these resources.
President Trump recently claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to resume the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets to the United States. However, analysts caution that China still holds significant leverage in this sector. Beijing controls a large share of global rare earth production and processing capacity, giving it considerable geopolitical influence over supply chains essential to high-tech and military applications.
“Non-market policies and practices in the critical minerals sector threaten our ability to acquire many critical minerals,” the G7 draft states. “Recognizing this threat to our economies, as well as various other risks to the resilience of our critical minerals supply chains, we will work together and with partners beyond the G7 to swiftly protect our economic and national security.”
The proposed strategy includes a series of coordinated actions: anticipating potential shortages of critical minerals, preparing joint responses to deliberate market disruptions, and accelerating efforts to diversify global sources of extraction, processing, and manufacturing. The G7 also plans to boost investment in recycling technologies to reduce dependency on any single country or supplier.
By increasing collaboration with developing nations that have untapped mineral reserves and improving environmental and labor standards in mining practices, the G7 hopes to create a more stable, transparent, and resilient global minerals market.
Final approval and publication of the communique are expected following further negotiations between member states.