At its inaugural summit with Central Asian nations, South Korea spotlighted critical minerals and energy cooperation – a bold strategic move to shore up supply-chain security and broaden its access to vital resources
The G7 and the EU are weighing a bold response to China’s tighter export controls: coordinated price floors on rare-earth minerals. The aim is to steady global supply chains and reduce dependence on a single supplier. Rather than relying on tariffs, a minimum price would tame volatile markets, prompt investors to back Western mining and refining, and strengthen critical tech and defense supply lines. The proposal signals rare transatlantic unity to diversify sources, accelerate reshoring of capacity, and deter future economic coercion-while confronting difficult implementation challenges and likely geopolitical pushback
China is surging ahead of the U.S. in the scramble for Central Asia’s rare-earth deposits, locking down materials that are the lifeblood of modern technology and military hardware. This strategic edge is reshaping the regional balance of power and signaling a broader geopolitical shift