China calls for 'stable, safe' critical mineral supply chain ahead of US strategic stockpile meeting

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Tuesday called for "stable and safe" critical mineral supply chains ahead of a US strategic stockpile meeting.

"China's position has not changed on keeping the global industrial and supply chains of critical minerals stable and safe. All parties have the responsibility to play a constructive role to this end," China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular news conference in Beijing.

The remarks came after US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he is launching a new strategic critical minerals reserve to ensure that American manufacturing can reduce its reliance on China. While Trump did not mention China by name, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directly pointed to Beijing as a key reason for the reserve's formation.

The initiative will be funded by $10 billion in Export-Import bank financing, along with an additional $2 billion from the private sector.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on Wednesday.

Delegations from over 50 nations, including from Asia, Africa and Europe are expected to attend the meeting. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar are among the participants.

US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said 11 additional countries would be announced as partners this week, while 20 more have expressed interest in joining, according to New York-based NTD News

Lin also noted Japan's retrieval of sediment containing rare earth minerals from a depth of 6,000 meters (19,690 feet) during a test mission on Monday.

"There have been similar reports in Japan in recent years," he said.

Japan said the mission marked the world’s first attempt to extract deep-sea rare earths at such a depth, calling it a significant step for economic security and maritime development.