Australia Endorses G7 Critical Minerals Declaration

G7 leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation with partner countries to reduce the bloc’s reliance on critical mineral supply chains dominated by China.

G7 Leaders, other world dignitaries and representatives from tech industries take part in a working lunch meeting as part of the G7 summit in Evian, eastern France, on June 17, 2026. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

Australia has announced its support for the G7’s recent critical minerals declaration, which aims to reduce the bloc’s reliance on critical mineral supply chains dominated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and build more resilient, diversified sources of these essential resources.

In a joint statement, G7 leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation with partner countries to develop the processing and industrial capacity needed to diversify the group’s critical minerals value chains.

While not naming China explicitly, they expressed “grave concerns” about the use of “non-market policies and practices and economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions and retaliatory measures” in critical minerals, which they said “undermine economic security and resilience.”

“In light of the high degree of market concentration, the need to reduce vulnerabilities regarding those resources and the growing use of arbitrary trade restrictions, we recall the urgency of diversifying our supply chains and building our collective resilience. Australia, partner country of the G7, also supports this declaration,” G7 leaders said.

“We will work together with partners to reduce critical dependencies and ensure that attempts or threats to weaponise economic dependencies fail. We seek to deter and stand ready to take actions, where necessary in a coordinated manner, against economic coercion.”

In recent years, the CCP has restricted rare earth exports to pressure countries whose policies or statements have displeased Beijing.

China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced controls on several categories of medium and heavy rare-earth-related items in April 2025. The notice said the measure was adopted to safeguard national security and interests, and fulfil non-proliferation obligations.

Concern about the practice has been mounting among G7 nations, with German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil warning late last month that “G7 countries have options to reduce their dependency on rare earths but have no time to lose.”

And in May, the European Commission’s executive vice president for prosperity and industrial strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, warned European companies to diversify their supply base or risk interruptions. That call was echoed by EU officials from several countries, including Cyprus, Latvia, Ireland, and Italy.

The G7 leaders signalled that their countries would seek to counter China’s dominance in rare earths by coordinating on “protecting critical technologies” and “policy measures for technology control.”

They said they aimed to reduce dependence on a single supplier outside the G7 and partner countries for rare earths and permanent magnets to below 60 percent by 2030, and to 50 percent as soon as possible. They also tasked ministers with setting a target by the end of the year for reducing dependence on other critical minerals.