Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary, will ask the Group of seven nations to reduce their reliance on China's critical minerals when he hosts a dozen top finance officials on Monday, a senior U.S. official said, reported Reuters.
The meeting will include finance ministers or cabinet ministers of G7 economies, the European Union, Australia, India, South Korea and Mexico, who together account for 60 per cent of critical minerals global demand.
"Urgency is the theme of the day. It's a very big undertaking. There's a lot of different angles, a lot of different countries involved and we really just need to move faster," the official told Reuters.
According to the International Energy Agency, China dominates the critical minerals supply chain, refining between 47 per cent and 87 per cent of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths.
These are used in defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries and refining processes.
The official said no joint action is likely and US is expected to issue a statement.
"The United States is in the posture of calling everyone together, showing leadership, sharing what we have in mind going forward," said the official. "We're ready to move with those who feel a similar level of urgency ... and others can join as they come to the realization of how serious this is."
Except Japan, G7 members are dependent on critical minerals from China, which has threatened to impose strict export controls.