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US-China relations
ChinaMilitary

Explainer | How dependent is America’s arsenal on China’s critical mineral supply?

Beijing has leveraged its dominance in critical mineral production and refining as a key negotiating point in trade wars

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American Virginia-class submarines contain 4,200kg of critical minerals. Since 2023, Beijing has imposed controls on exporters seeking to ship eight gallium-related and six germanium-related products abroad. In 2024, the list was expanded to include antimony. Photo: US Navy
Seong Hyeon Choi
The US defence sector is dependent on critical minerals for its advanced weapon systems, but it has relied on China to meet its demands.
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As Beijing tightens export restrictions, there is a growing risk to the Pentagon’s military readiness and supply chain security.

The big picture

China dominates the global supply of rare earths, including more than 90 per cent of the world’s processing and refining. It also has an edge in most other critical minerals, such as refined gallium, of which it controls 98.8 per cent of the output.

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US defence chief Pete Hegseth warns of ‘imminent’ China threat during Shangri-La Dialogue

US defence chief Pete Hegseth warns of ‘imminent’ China threat during Shangri-La Dialogue

A closer look

In recent years, Beijing has leveraged its dominance in critical mineral production and refining as a key negotiating point in trade wars, as well as targeting defence industries in the United States and its allies.

In July 2023, Beijing imposed controls requiring exporters to seek permission to ship eight gallium-related and six germanium-related products abroad. The list was expanded to include antimony in August 2024.

In December, the Chinese commerce ministry imposed export bans on gallium, germanium and antimony to the United States, which affects American military end users.

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In April, Beijing imposed trade restrictions requiring a special export licence for seven categories of medium and heavy rare earth elements (REE) – samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium – as well as magnets and other finished products that contain them to be shipped out of China.

Why it matters

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