China’s strategic mineral supply push ‘a very urgent mission’, says resources minister, amid self-reliance push

China's Natural Resources Minister, Wang Guanghua, has stated that China must increase its search for strategic minerals to ensure it can handle tough situations. These minerals include oil, natural gas, copper, lithium, and rare earths, which are very important for making many things we use every day. Currently, China relies a lot on buying these minerals from other countries, which is risky because the supply can be affected by global issues and conflicts.

In an article, Wang Guanghua said that China hasn't been exploring for new minerals enough. He believes that finding and mining minerals is crucial for keeping China's supply chain safe. He wants China to do more research and improve the way they find and get minerals. This is to make sure China can protect itself from unexpected problems that could happen inside the country or from outside.

The competition for technology is also a big deal. The United States and China are both trying to be the best in tech, and minerals are needed to make things like weapons and computer parts. The U. S. has made rules to control what can be sold to China, and China has made its own rules about what it will sell to other countries. Even though the U. S. is really good at making advanced computer parts, they still need minerals from China. China is also working on using less coal and oil to help the environment, which changes the kinds of minerals they need. President Xi Jinping has promised that China will work on making less pollution in the future.