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U.S. Forms Coalition to Break China’s Hold on Critical Mineral Supply Chains

by Eric Olander
A cobalt processing line in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. China controls the bulk of the blue metal supply chain that's critical for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries. AFP.

The United States, along with partner countries in North America, Europe, and Asia unveiled a new Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) pact earlier this month that aims to challenge China’s control of supply chains for critical resources like cobalt and rare earths.

Although concern has been mounting for years over China’s dominance of certain supply chains for strategic resources, both for extraction and processing, Western and Asian powers have done little to respond.

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