World
UK lawmakers warn China dependence leaves critical minerals supply dangerously exposed
A UK parliamentary investigation says the country remains dangerously dependent on China for minerals and refined materials needed for defence, renewable energy and AI. MPs said China’s control of processing creates a strategic vulnerability and called for a central finance facility, domestic mining and recycling, stronger procurement policy and cooperation with G7 and Indo-Pacific partners. The committee said government transparency was insufficient and that it could not verify progress against its tests. Ministers disputed the criticism, citing £400m in funding and 2035 domestic-production and recycling targets.
Editorial summary · Publisher article
What matters
- The committee said China dominates refining in seven mineral categories, including lithium and rare earths.
- It said lithium demand could rise 45-fold and rare-earth demand 16-fold by 2030.
- MPs proposed grants, equity and debt to accelerate diversification and new supply projects.
- The government said it is targeting 10% of demand from domestic production and 20% from recycling by 2035.
Context & caveats
- The dependency and demand projections come from the parliamentary investigation; the government disputes the committee’s assessment of its strategy.
Why this made the edition
The report is based on a parliamentary investigation, includes specific dependency and demand figures, outlines a 10-point policy response and gives the government’s rebuttal. It has direct implications for defence, AI infrastructure and industrial policy.
Source material