How the US Is Trying to Challenge China's Critical Mineral Dominance

The U.S. is rapidly reshaping its trade and industrial policies to build new critical mineral supply chains as part of a broader effort to reduce the country's dependence on China for these strategic resources. So far, however, most of Washington's deals have focused primarily on securing access to raw materials such as cobalt, lithium, and rare earths. That alone may not be enough to compete with China, which has spent decades investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the infrastructure, processing capacity, and skilled workforce needed to build resilient supply chains. Zainab Usman, senior research scholar and managing director of international programs at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, recently published a new paper examining how the U.S. is adapting its trade policies to strengthen its critical minerals strategy. She joins Eric and Géraud from Washington to discuss whether these efforts can realistically help the United States narrow the gap with China. 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode • America's critical minerals strategy • U.S.-China supply chain competition • Why extraction alone isn't enough • The infrastructure and workforce gap • Trade policy as industrial policy • Africa's role in the minerals race • Can the U.S. catch up to China? Show Notes: United Nations University: • The International trade dimensions of the United States critical minerals security strategy • by Zainab Usman Bloomberg Originals: • The $10 Billion Hunt for the Rocks That Power the World Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions: • Assessing the U.S.-China Competition for Minerals Crucial to the Development of Emerging Technologies Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: • French: www.projetafriquechine.com • | @AfrikChine • Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com • | @ChinaAmericas Join us on Patreon! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth