Britain jails two spies for China

China disses G7 critical minerals ‘clique’; Beijing culls thousands of arts degrees in AI push

Observing China is the essential newsletter to understand the UK-PRC relationship, explained in the context of global developments.

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Without naming any names, the Group of Seven (G7) countries laid out a plan this week during the annual summit in France to reduce their reliance on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for critical minerals. In a joint statement focusing exclusively on building resilient supply chains in this sector, the leaders stated:

In so doing, we aim to significantly reduce [sic] our dependencies on a single supplier outside the G7 and partner countries for rare earths and permanent magnets to under 60% by 2030 and continuing to decrease further over time, with an ambition to reach 50% as soon as possible.

Additional steps to reduce reliance on the PRC – which manages over 90% of the world’s rare earth processing – include a digital platform which will track supply chain vulnerabilities and predict potential market distortions in the industry.

Naturally, the preliminary deal to end the war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz signed by Washington and Tehran stole the spotlight in the coverage of the summit. However, several other key geopolitical issues were raised at the G7 summit, where the PRC’s critical role was discussed with varying levels of overtness.

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