Energy security today is no longer just about procuring oil and gas. It increasingly hinges on accessing critical minerals that power everything from electric vehicles to semiconductors, solar panels to wind turbines…But China’s structural dominance makes the supply chains for these resources vulnerable…And through a wave of targeted export curbs, including restrictions on gallium and germanium adopted in 2023, China has repeatedly shown its choke hold on mineral flows…Adding to the strain is a new source of volatility unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs and Washington’s trade war with China, which is shaking the already fragile foundations of global mineral supply chains…In this high-stakes environment, Japan’s strategy, while not immune to global turbulence, offers a notably different playbook. It favors stability, diversification and long-term sustainability over coercive leverage…Today, any disruption in critical mineral supply chains threatens not only industrial production but the viability of Japan’s broader climate goals…On March 20, Trump signed an executive order to expand the United States’ mineral production and boost its national security. This followed China’s February export control announcements targeting tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, indium and molybdenum — materials vital to high-tech and defense manufacturing…Together with renewed interest in Greenland’s rare earths, Canada’s uranium and copper and in securing Ukraine’s titanium in exchange for American support, Washington’s broader geopolitical posture rooted in resource nationalism is hard to miss…For Japan — caught between its security alliance with Washington and deep economic ties to Beijing — the fallout is particularly acute…Japan’s vulnerabilities became sharply visible in 2010, when a maritime clash near the Senkaku Islands led China to abruptly halt rare earth exports, choking off supply to Japanese industries…Tokyo responded decisively…The strategy focused on substituting materials, recycling technologies, overseas investments — particularly in Australia — and the creation of strategic stockpiles…Between 2004 and 2020, JOGMEC invested over $600 million in more than 100 critical mineral projects globally and today oversees 30 operations in 15 countries. Its evolution underscores the role of institutional strength and policy agility in managing geopolitical risks…Other policies like the 2020 resource strategy set ambitious stockpiling targets — 60 days’ worth for most critical minerals and up to 180 days for high-risk materials …Japan has also been working with key multilateral frameworks to shape the rules of global mineral governance. As a founding member of the Minerals Security Partnership, Japan cooperates with the U.S., Australia and the European Union to foster transparent, resilient supply chains for lithium, cobalt and other strategic resources. 

Recycling critical materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel are driving profits and shoring up China's resource security as trade war with US hits supply chains…Pricey components such as lithium - a silvery-white alkali metal aptly nicknamed "white gold" - along with other materials such as cobalt and nickel, hold their value beyond the life of the batteries powering China's massive electric-vehicle (EV) industry…"There is huge potential in the business of new-energy waste, because new energy is where China and the world are going,"…And with valuable metals comprising essential components in many of today's fast-growing, clean-energy technologies, the cycle is especially meaningful in terms of improving China's mineral independence as it navigates intensifying global trade tensions, according to some analysts…"The recycling of minerals is largely for the sake of resource security," said Du Huanzheng, a professor specialising in circular economy at Shanghai's Tongji University…In response to that rising demand, a new state-owned giant was created directly under the State Council last year. The China Resources Recycling Group aims to build an offline resource recycling network covering waste ranging from durable consumer goods, such as electronic products, to retired wind power and photovoltaic equipment, according to an official announcement in October…"While China is intensifying efforts in looking for mines of critical minerals domestically, it is facing more difficulty in buying from allies of the US, such as Australia and Canada…"Business with other [mineral] suppliers, such as Congo and Chile, may also be affected as the administration of Donald Trump pressures trading partners to isolate China," he added…China relies heavily on imports for many key minerals, especially those for new-energy and high-end manufacturing, such as cobalt, nickel and lithium. On the other hand, the US and Europe are also warning against their dependence on China, as most of the intermediate links of refining and finished products are controlled by the latter…China is still in its infancy in recycling new-energy waste, but the practice is not particularly advanced anywhere in the world, noted the Beijing professor…" …Against such a backdrop, legal recyclers are struggling to receive enough waste to be processed, resulting in overcapacity, said Ma, the Zhengzhou sales manager…He expected that the issue would ease as regulation matures and a peak period for battery retirement comes in a couple of years, as many auto brands, including Chinese ones, are speeding up their shift to pure electric cars amid the EU's ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035.

Tesla's new car sales in Britain and Germany plummeted to their lowest in over two years in April, falling 62% and 46% year-on-year respectively, even as demand for electric vehicles rose in both countries, national data showed on Tuesday…Overall car sales in Germany dropped by 0.2% in April, but those of electric vehicles grew by 53.5%, KBA said…In Britain, battery-electric car registrations increased by 8.1% in the month, while total car sales were down 10.4%, the SMMT data showed…However, Volkswagen's battery-electric sales in the country jumped 194% to 2,314 vehicles last month, while registrations of China's BYD were up 311% to 1,419 cars, the research group said.

Congo and Rwanda have submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a process meant to end fighting in eastern Congo and attract billions of dollars of Western investment, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa said on Monday…It is the latest step in an ambitious bid by the Trump administration to end a decades-long conflict in a region rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium…Before that accord can be signed, Boulos said, Rwanda and Congo must finalise bilateral economic agreements with Washington that will see U.S. and Western companies invest billions of dollars in Congolese mines and infrastructure projects to support mining in both countries, including the processing of minerals in Rwanda…The hope is that all three agreements can be signed in about two months, and on the same day, at a ceremony attended by Trump, Boulos said…The diplomacy comes amid an advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more…Meanwhile, fighting in eastern Congo continues. Mak Hazukay, a spokesperson for Congo's army, on Saturday accused M23 of seizing the town of Lunyasenge on Lake Edward and said Congo "reserves the right to retaliate".