Washington, DC, USA: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Australia and several other nations have been invited to participate in a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven that he will host in Washington on January 12, focusing on critical minerals.
Bessent explained that he has been advocating for a dedicated discussion on the topic since the G7 leaders summit held last summer, noting that finance ministers had already conducted a virtual meeting on the issue in December. He also confirmed that India received an invitation, though he was uncertain whether it had confirmed attendance. Bessent shared these details during an interview with Reuters following a visit to an engineering facility near Minneapolis operated by Winnebago Industries. He did not disclose which additional countries were asked to join the meeting.
The G7 consists of the United States, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada, along with the European Union. Many of these economies rely heavily on rare earth materials sourced from China. In June, the group agreed on a coordinated plan to strengthen supply chains and support economic growth. In October, Australia finalized an agreement with the United States aimed at challenging Chinas dominance in the critical minerals sector. The deal includes an $8.5 billion project pipeline and utilizes Australias proposed strategic reserve to provide materials such as rare earths and lithium that are susceptible to supply disruptions.
Australian officials have since stated that interest in the initiative has come from Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. According to the International Energy Agency, China controls between 47 percent and 87 percent of the global refining capacity for copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths. These materials are essential for defense systems, semiconductor manufacturing, renewable energy technologies, batteries, and industrial processing.
In recent years, Western nations have taken steps to lessen their reliance on Chinese mineral supplies, particularly after China introduced strict export controls on rare earths. The January 12 meeting follows reports that China recently began limiting rare earth and magnet exports to Japanese companies and prohibited shipments of dual-use materials to Japans military. Despite these developments, Bessent said China continues to honor its commitments to buy U.S. soybeans and deliver critical minerals to American companies.
