Why the US Wants to Cut Ties with China's Rare Minerals

The US is pushing other countries to act fast on reducing their dependence on China for rare minerals. This is a big deal because these minerals are used in many important things, like defense tech, batteries, and renewable energy. A senior US official said that the US Treasury Secretary will talk to finance leaders from the G7 countries, the EU, Australia, India, South Korea, and Mexico. These countries make up a big part of the world's demand for these minerals. The US wants everyone to move faster on this issue.The US has been trying to get other countries to take this seriously since a meeting in Canada last June. But so far, not much has happened. The US is frustrated because China controls a lot of these minerals. China refines most of the world's copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths. The US is leading the charge and wants other countries to join. They have been working on deals with Australia and other countries to boost their own production. But there's still a lot of work to do. This meeting comes just after reports that China is restricting exports to Japan. But the US says this meeting was planned before that happened.