The subset of critical minerals known as rare earth minerals, consisting of 17 metallic minerals, is vital to strategic industries spanning sectors such as defence, communications and clean technology. As a result, nations are racing to secure supplies to protect their strategic and economic interests.

As the importance of critical minerals continues to grow across multiple strategic fields, China’s chokehold on the supply chain has become an increasing source of concern. This, in turn, has led to multiple pacts and agreements such as the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), the Quad Critical Minerals Framework, and Pax Silica, as nations scramble to secure supply chains. These initiatives seek to diversify supply sources, increase investment in alternative production and processing capacity, strengthen recycling, and build a network of trusted partners across strategically important mineral and technology supply chains.

Despite this, China still holds a strong position in critical minerals. This has been due to China’s strategic policy decisions that have moved beyond control of mineral ores. Instead, consolidation of midstream processes and IP accumulation has set the stage for a new era of lasting technological dependence.

Over the past few years, China’s dominance of critical minerals has given it near-hegemony in supply chains. It not only has near-complete control of the minerals themselves, but also dominates their processing. China’s dominance across critical mineral supply chains is no coincidence; its success stems from policy, not geography.

China’s investment in rare earths dates back to the 1950s, with scaling up continuing over........

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