China Tightens Grip on Critical Metals Despite Global Diversification Drive

Beijing has strengthened its dominance in the supply chains of critical minerals and rare earth elements despite a push by the Western nations to reduce reliance on China. The heavily concentrated supply of critical minerals in a handful of countries and China’s export controls are raising the risk of “painful disruptions” in the market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned in its new annual report, Global Critical Minerals Outlook.

While the world has acknowledged that diversification of the critical minerals supply is…