Critical Raw Materials, Economic Statecraft and Europe's Dependence on China
As China tightens export controls on critical minerals, it is important to put Beijing's policies in perspective and analyse how Europe can respond.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) holds a dominant position along wide swaths of critical mineral and technology value chains that are necessary for achieving Europe’s decarbonisation policy goals. Many fear that the PRC will pursue increasingly coercive measures to leverage its supply chain advantage in pursuit of broader geopolitical objectives. Examining three mineral groups in which Beijing has enhanced supply chain restrictions in 2023, namely rare earth elements, gallium and graphite, highlights that the PRC’s priority has long been the pursuit of economic and industrial policy goals rather than a broader diplomatic agenda, though this could change. Arguably, leveraging raw materials is ultimately a weak form of economic statecraft, eliciting effective diversification strategies that in turn weaken a supplier state’s sources of leverage. Europe’s response, while slow to emerge, has been a strategy to reinvest in its own mineral extraction, refining and recycling capacities, on the one hand, and diversify global supply chains by expanding its strategic partnerships, on the other.
Available in:
Themes and regions
Share
Center for Asian Studies
Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.
The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands.
The Centre for Asian Studies maintains close institutional links with counterpart research institutes in Europe and Asia, and its researchers regularly carry out fieldwork in the region.
The Center organizes closed-door roundtables, expert-level seminars and a number of public events, including an Annual Conference, that welcome experts from Asia, Europe and the United States. The work of Center’s researchers, as well as that of their partners, is regularly published in the Center’s electronic journal Asie.Visions.
Japan and Nuclear Weapons: Between Extended Deterrence and Normative Dilemmas
Since the late 1950s, Japan’s nuclear weapons policy has been based on the coexistence of two competing normative rationales: the rejection of nuclear weapons, rooted in the legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the recognition of the central role of US extended nuclear deterrence for Japan’s security.
Japan’s Defense Industry Goes Global: Ambitions and Challenges
Fragmented Europe: Dealing with China as a technology and innovation power
How is Europe navigating China’s ascension as a technological power? The latest report by the European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC) provides a nuanced account of a converging, yet still fragmented approach across 22 countries.
The G7 Leaders’ Summit in France: An Unexpected Success
Overall, it was a successful summit for President Macron. However, caution is warranted regarding the 2026 G7’s lasting legacy, as the unpredictability of the U.S. president could affect the durability of commitments made.