아프리카ㆍ중동

Over the years, China’s dominance over the supply chain of critical minerals—minerals used in clean energy transition and electric vehicle (EV) batteries—has become a serious concern for many Western governments. From Washington to Brussels, the dependence on a Chinese-dominated supply chain has been dubbed a national security threat. Legislation and policies have been put in place to increase government control over countries’ critical mineral supply chains and, to some extent, restrain China’s. Between 2022 and 2023, critical minerals-specific policies and strategies have been adopted in Canada, Australia, and EU countries to secure, develop, and diversify supply chains. In all these policies, critical minerals and their supply chains are intimately connected to national security.