House Foreign Affairs subcommittee presses finance, trade and diplomatic tools to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals

At a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, lawmakers and former officials urged a coordinated international and domestic strategy to reduce U.S. and allied dependence on the People’s Republic of China for critical minerals used in semiconductors, electric-vehicle batteries and defense systems.

The session, titled “Breaking China’s choke hold on critical mineral supply chains,” centered on financing tools, trade measures and multinational partnerships to build non‑Chinese sources and to derisk private investment. Chairwoman Kim opened the hearing saying the United States needs “a bold global strategy to secure resilient, diversified supply chains free from Chinese control.”

Why it matters: China currently dominates key parts of the processing and manufacturing chain for many minerals that underpin modern technology and defense systems. Witnesses said that relying only on U.S. domestic production will be too slow to meet rapidly rising global demand and that a mix of diplomatic, financing and market measures will be required.

Panelists proposed three near-term pillars to blunt Chinese market power: (1) use U.S. international finance tools such as the Development Finance…