China's Other Minerals Monopoly

Today’s guest post was authored by Nima Khorrami, a Stockholm-based Research Associate at the Arctic Institute, Centre for Circumpolar Security Studies.

After decades of neglect, Washington has adopted a coherent and “forceful” response to China’s dominance over critical minerals. China controls an estimated 91 percent of global rare earth refining, dominates the processing of a wide range of minerals, and has demonstrated repeatedly that it is willing to weaponise that position. The United States has responded through a range of initiatives and policy packages including Executive Order 14241,the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and Pax Silica. Add bilateral deals with Australia, Japan, the DRC, and Saudi Arabia, and the result is undeniably a more aggressive and cohesive mineral strategy than…