G7 meets in Toronto on countering China's critical mineral dominance

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At a summit in western Canada in June, G7 leaders launched a "Critical Minerals Action Plan," which calls for diversified supply chains to advance "shared national and economic security interests."

The upcoming two-day meeting in Toronto offers "a major opportunity" to advance that effort, Tae-Yoon Kim, head of the critical minerals division at the International Energy Agency, said.

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A central complaint about China's conduct is that it does not adhere to market principles.

Multiple countries have substantial mineral reserves, but China's true dominance lies in its processing and refining capacity -- especially for rare earths, which are needed to make the specialized magnets used in a range of high-tech products.

Since a high proportion of material moves through Chinese-controlled businesses, Beijing can build stockpiles and control global supply.

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For Canada's Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, the G7 meeting comes at a "hinge moment," his spokesman Gregory Frame told AFP.

At the meeting, Canada "will announce the first deliverables reached under (a new alliance) that will help ensure the minerals that underpin the industries of the future can be mined, refined, and produced by countries that share our values."

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G7 energy ministers are united in concern about the "security of supply," Hunter said, with China imposing more serious rare earth export controls.

For Hunter, progress at the Toronto meeting would include concrete action on the issue of traceability -- tracking raw materials from mining to refinement and ensuring suppliers follow global market rules.

Hunter said that "opaque" Chinese-controlled companies exist across the supply chain, which the G7 should strive to "box out of the market" with new policies on traceability and transparency.

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