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China-Africa relations
ChinaDiplomacy

How the US-led West plans to take on China in Africa in the race for critical minerals

  • Washington has created a partnership to secure resources needed for green tech such as electric car batteries, solar panels and wind turbines
  • China now dominates the import and processing of many of these minerals, exposing the United States and allies to strategic vulnerabilities

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Minerals such as lithium and cobalt are essential to electric vehicles. Photo: Reuters
Jevans Nyabiagein Nairobi
Worried about their vulnerability to China and Russia, the US and its allies have established a funding initiative for resource-rich African countries to bolster critical mineral supply chains essential for a clean energy transition that will challenge Chinese dominance.
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Last month, the US-led group – the Minerals Security Partnership – met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss priorities, challenges and opportunities in responsible mining and processing of critical minerals.

The partnership, which was started in June in Canada, brings together the US, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Britain and the European Commission.

Attending the meeting in New York were five of Africa’s mineral-rich countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia. The initiative promises to help African nations with funding and information to improve the domestic processing of critical minerals.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the meeting that the US and its allies were open to “providing a loan guarantee or debt financing” to countries that had abundant minerals used in electric car batteries, solar panels and wind turbines. This is part of President Joe Biden’s aim to secure minerals such as lithium and cobalt to help the US’ green energy transition – a supply chain that China dominates.
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Blinken said the initiative would support projects that adhered to high environmental, social and governance standards. “We want to make this a race to the top, not a race to the bottom,” he said.

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