US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Australia and several other countries would participate in a meeting of G7 finance ministers he is hosting in Washington on Monday to discuss critical minerals. Bessent noted that he had been advocating for a dedicated meeting on this topic since last summer’s G7 leaders’ summit, and finance ministers had already held a virtual discussion in December.

India has also been invited, Bessent told Reuters during a visit to a Winnebago Industries engineering lab near Minneapolis, though he was unsure whether India had accepted. The other invited countries have not been disclosed. The G7 comprises the US, UK, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and the European Union. Many members rely heavily on China for rare earth supplies. Last June, the group agreed on an action plan to secure supply chains and strengthen their economies.

Australia signed a US-backed agreement in October to counter China’s dominance in critical minerals. This includes an $8.5 billion project pipeline and leverages Australia’s proposed strategic reserve to supply metals like rare earths and lithium, which are vulnerable to disruption. Canberra has said Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore have shown interest in participating.

China remains the dominant player in the critical minerals supply chain, refining 47% to 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency. These minerals are essential for defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries, and refining processes.

In recent years, Western countries have sought to reduce dependence on Chinese critical minerals, particularly after China imposed strict export controls on rare earths. Monday’s meeting follows reports that China recently restricted exports of rare earths and powerful magnets to Japanese firms and banned dual-use items to the Japanese military. Bessent added that China is still honoring its commitments to purchase US soybeans and supply critical minerals to US companies.