Every country wants green tech, electric cars, and cheap gadgets. But nearly all of this depends on minerals like lithium, nickel, copper. And China controls most of it. They buy mines everywhere, use government money to outbid others, and even let their companies lose money if it means locking up supplies for the future. They even run the factories that turn raw minerals into finished products
Fact: China processes 90%+ of the worlds rare earths (69% in mining production). For cobalt, lithium, copper, it is frequently more than half
Yes your point is true China has now become a very ruling force in critical minerals, whether it be lithium, cobalt, or rare earth element, it has processing retention of 70 - 90% which establishes its monopoly. And due to the urgency of these minerals in industries like EVs, smartphones & defense, China has made a prime leap.
Now Western countries (US, Europe, Australia, etc.) are worried. They talk about “friendship” and “safe supply chains”, but what are they really doing? Mostly, they throw money at big companies or make new trade groups, but still depend on China’s factories and technology
In response to that, you know US has launched a minerals safety tieup, in which it has put money into billions in companies like MP Materials & Lynas and is also making new supply deals with Australia, Brazil, and other allies. The EU is also implementing laws like Critical raw materials Act, that will have aims to have about 40% of the processing efficiency domestically by 2030.
At the same time, local people in Africa, Asia, and South America are tired of outsiders (East or West) controlling their resources. Sometimes they just take over mines and switch partners
The world is rushing for more minerals, but we might just repeat old mistakes: dependency, pollution, debt, broken promises. Only this time, it’s not just oil, but everything from phone batteries to wind turbines
US & EU projects are quite significant and will require years of time and money and till then China will continue to enjoy its dominance in the global supply chains from wind turbines to consumer electronics. It is the same situation as it was during the oil era, but now the time is for technology and metals. If the governments all over the world do not diversify the resources and make the same mistakes to be overly dependent, then the green revolution would just be a gimmick.