Burgum's statement that China controls 60 percent of rare-earth minerals and 85 percent of its processing. "Fact check—Doug Burgum is right," the agency headlined a story.

Australia is one of the world's top exporters of lithium and rare earth minerals, which are crucial for battery production. However, the country lacks the industrial capacity to convert raw materials into higher-value products.

A loader shifts soil containing rare earth minerals to be loaded at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu Province, for export to Japan, on Sept. 5, 2010.

Unfortunately, the Biden administration claims it wants America to lead in “clean energy” production, but is instead blocking American producers from developing the critical, rare-earth minerals to make it happen domestically.

According to Reuters, the United States attaches significant importance to Vietnam's rare earth industry. Insiders within this sector suggest that Vietnam boasts rare earth mineral deposits second only to China in scale.

Rare earth minerals production, meanwhile, has almost entirely shifted overseas. The core reasons for the mining downfall have been not so much economic as political, Black suggested.

Electric vehicles are powered by rare earth minerals that are largely sourced out of China.

South Korea seeks to tap into Vietnam's rare earth minerals and boost cooperation in the high-tech industry. The two countries also agreed to cooperate in finance, technology, information, infrastructure, and energy.

Beijing responded by ramping up overseas lending through state banks and, in September 2010, imposing restrictions on rare-earth mineral exports. Massive investments and loans from Beijing began to buy European nations’ silence and acquiescence.

"There has been a long ongoing effort over the course of many years by the Chinese government to try to control the supply and trade in rare earth minerals ... and of trying to use their very dominant position in the rare earths market as a tool of leverage

But it’s Argentina’s participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its enormous natural resources, including oil, rare earth minerals, and agriculture, that are important to China’s economy, high technology sector, and food security.

Beijing also responded to U.S. concerns about supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals, including yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and indium. Beijing's own readout was notably thinner.

China also dominates global rare earth and critical mineral deposits and refining, raising national security concerns in the West.

In April 2025, Trump signed an executive order focusing on critical minerals and rare earth metals.

In March, Chile and the United States signed a separate joint declaration on critical minerals and rare-earth elements.

USA Rare Earth currently develops the Round Top rare-earths deposit in Texas.

The Trump administration is attempting to incentivize the rapid scale-up of the nation’s overall mining capacity, especially for critical minerals and rare earth elements. The United States is reliant on China for critical minerals and refining.

Rare-Earth Exports Rare-earth shipments have been one of the thornier issues between the two countries.

The U.S. leader reopened diplomatic channels with Moscow that had been closed since 2022 and began pressuring Kyiv to grant the United States access to rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military support.

“Critical minerals, including rare earth elements, in the form of processed minerals are essential raw materials and critical production inputs required for economic and national security.” This sentiment was echoed by Adm.

Negative Environmental Impact The expert said that there are far-reaching negative environmental impacts associated with mining for rare earth mineral, as well as for the extraction of critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel.

Alliance Concerns about China’s use of export restrictions on rare earth elements and critical minerals in geopolitical disputes have arisen before, including during a 2010 conflict with Japan over disputed islands, when China temporarily halted rare

China now controls the production or processing of the vast majority of rare earth minerals, including those used in the production of lithium batteries to power EVs.

Back in 2010, for example, when China faced a territorial dispute with Japan, it cut off all rare earth mineral exports to Tokyo.

If China decided to cut us off on those rare earth minerals right now, this would have a serious impact on our national defense.

Third, they should diversify critical supply chains—such as rare earth minerals, pharmaceuticals, etc.—to other countries.

Trump and Xi met on Oct. 30 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, where they finalized a deal covering various trade and economic issues, including soybeans and rare-earth elements or critical minerals

They say China is focusing such efforts on industries it deems important, including technology, pharmaceuticals and rare-earth minerals.” Beijing has weaponized its legal system to steal technology.

Zelenskyy said the newly signed minerals deal, which grants U.S. firms preferential access to Ukraine’s rare earth and strategic mineral deposits, was the first concrete outcome of the Vatican meeting—and a sign of what could follow.

rare earths essential to U.S. defense.