China’s Dominance in the Global Critical Minerals Supply Chain

The global critical minerals industry is highly reliant on China, particularly for minerals essential to clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, and defence applications. This reliance is most pronounced in the midstream and downstream segments - specifically, the refining and processing stages. We've compiled a table that breaks down China's share across six key critical minerals today.

It is worth highlighting that China’s position is built less on holding the largest reserves and more on its unmatched capacity for processing and refining, as well as integrated supply chain control. For the six core critical minerals - lithium, graphite, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earth elements - China's market share ranges from about two-thirds to near-total dominance depending on the mineral and supply chain stage, with the most extreme cases being rare earths and battery-grade graphite.

As the world races toward electrification and green energy transition, understanding and addressing these dependencies as well as related supply chain integrity risks will be critical for policymakers, investors, and industry leaders alike.

Sources: 2025 reports published on the topic by the International Energy Agency, AidData, The Center for Strategic and International Studies, The Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, among others.