Critical Minerals and the Australia-China Relationship

Wednesday 7 August 2024

On Wednesday 7 August 2024, the Perth USAsia Centre hosted Dr Benjamin Herscovitch and Dr Darren Lim from the Australian National University for a special industry briefing delivered in partnership with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, with support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations. 
 
While the Australian Government has sought to stabilise the relationship with China, critical minerals are a sensitive topic. Australia – and Western Australia especially – accounts for huge global supplies of these minerals, but China dominates global processing.  The scale and scope of its monopoly on this vital sector presents significant economic and security challenges for Australia and partners across the Indo-Pacific. 
 
Australia’s leading China analysts Dr Herscovitch and Dr Lim joined us to unpick how Australia navigates its relationship with China on this sensitive, strategically important issue. Canberra increasingly relies on strategic industrial policies to protect its national interests amid hardening US-China competition. Business stakeholders in the critical minerals sector can, and should, play a key role in developing an effective government strategy.