As geopolitical tensions electrify the global scramble for critical minerals—the raw materials that underpin advanced defense systems and clean energy technologies—the United States and China have been racing to expand their influence over the mineral market in Africa…The world’s F-35 fighter jets, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and wind turbines all rely on critical minerals, including rare earths, cobalt, and lithium—many of which are found in Africa. But the problem for U.S. policymakers is that China overwhelmingly dominates the global refining and processing of these materials. Beijing has also spent more than a decade deepening ties and inking infrastructure deals with African partners, giving it a major leg up in the global rush for the resources…Worried about strategic vulnerabilities, Washington is now ramping up efforts to carve out a stake in the critical minerals sector. In one of the most ambitious U.S. infrastructure bids in Africa yet, the Biden administration has pledged to lend hundreds of millions of dollars toward reviving the Lobito Corridor, a 1,200 mile-long railway that would transport critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the Angolan coast. The DRC is home to the world’s biggest cobalt reserves, while Zambia is rich in copper…“The Lobito Corridor is really a play out of Beijing’s own playbook,” said Cameron Hudson, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s a chapter in the Belt and Road Initiative that Washington has, I think, finally gotten smart to the benefits of.”…Building upon previous investments with the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship foreign-policy initiative, China has spent the past two decades pouring at least $170 billion dollars into building ports, railroads, and other massive infrastructure projects across Africa…The Lobito Corridor is emblematic of Washington’s broader ambitions of de-risking ties with China amid growing concerns over its critical mineral supply chain dominance. The push follows a long line of legislation aimed at boosting the domestic industry in the United States, perhaps most notably the Biden administration’s sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, which is aimed at accelerating the development of an American EV industry. Outside of the Inflation Reduction Act, Washington has attempted to strengthen supply chain security by strengthening ties with friendly partners, including Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, through the Minerals Security Partnership…“Any continued reliance on China—and other bad actors—for these resources is downright dangerous.”…“All of those initiatives are part of the U.S. strategy to build its own China-free critical minerals supply chain,” said C. Géraud Neema Byamungu, an expert in China-Africa relations at the China Global South Project…The 122-year-old Lobito Corridor is one of the newest pillars in that strategy. While Belgium and Portugal originally built the railway more than a century ago, the infrastructure was decimated during the Angolan civil war, and in 2004, Chinese firms poured at least $2 billion into revamping the corridor. But in 2022, a U.S.-backed consortium won the rights to develop the railway, beating out Beijing’s bid. 

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun will visit Canada next week to attend a U.S.-led multilateral meeting on the global critical minerals supply chain, the foreign ministry said Thursday…Kang will participate in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) meeting in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday (local time) to discuss ways to diversify the global supply chain of critical minerals with other member countries…Korea is a member of the U.S.-led MSP, which calls for strengthening the global supply of critical minerals, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, and promoting investment in them. 

The United States is opening an investigation into whether Chinese vehicle imports pose national security risks and could impose restrictions due to concerns about "connected" car technology, the White House said on Thursday…The U.S. Commerce Department probe is needed because vehicles "collect large amounts of sensitive data on their drivers and passengers (and) regularly use their cameras and sensors to record detailed information on U.S. infrastructure," the White House said. As vehicles could "be piloted or disabled remotely" the probe will also look at autonomous vehicles…"China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "I’m not going to let that happen on my watch”…Biden called the effort an "unprecedented action to ensure that cars on U.S. roads from countries of concern like China do not undermine our national security."…Separately, the Biden administration is considering imposing new tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles and officials face new pressure to restrict Chinese electric vehicle imports from Mexico…Washington has passed laws excluding companies and consumers from being able to benefit from tax credits for batteries and critical minerals, as well as subsidies of $7,500 for every new-energy vehicle produced, should they include materials in their supply chains from China or other countries deemed a "Foreign Entity of Concern" (FEOC)…China dominates the EV battery supply chain and the industry is scrambling to build a China-free supply chain…The United States previously barred Chinese telecom companies from its market citing concerns about data and designated Huawei and ZTE as threats, requiring U.S. carriers to remove their equipment from U.S. networks.