China’s dominance in strategic minerals has been acknowledged for decades, yet Europe has rarely confronted it with coordinated strategy. The issue is not simple competition—it is structural asymmetry. China combines resource access, processing capacity, state-backed financing, and industrial coordination in ways Europe has struggled to match, creating a clear geopolitical and economic gap.
Processing and Refining: Europe’s Critical Vulnerability
Europe’s dependency is most pronounced in mineral processing and refining. Even when raw materials come from diverse suppliers, processing often occurs in Chinese facilities, creating structural reliance that cannot be solved by sourcing alone. Rising geopolitical tensions underscore that this dependency is now a strategic vulnerability affecting battery metals, lithium, graphite, and rare earths.
Calls for Europe to “step up its game” reflect a growing awareness that incremental measures are insufficient. Competing in the strategic minerals arena requires alignment across trade policy, industrial strategy, environmental regulation, and foreign relations. Only by converging these areas can Europe develop a coherent approach to raw materials security.
Learning from China Without Imitating
China’s model offers both lessons and warnings. Its effectiveness stems from long-term planning and state coordination, but also involves environmental and social trade-offs Europe is unwilling to replicate. Europe’s goal is not to imitate China, but to establish an alternative model that balances resilience, industrial competitiveness, and democratic legitimacy.
This alternative model is beginning to take shape. Strategic project designation, coordinated financing, and diplomatic engagement with resource-rich partners are becoming part of a more assertive European strategy. Yet implementation remains uneven, and political commitment varies across member states, highlighting the need for sustained action.
Strategic Minerals: A Core Policy Priority
Ultimately, stepping up Europe’s game requires recognizing that strategic minerals are no longer peripheral. They intersect with climate policy, industrial competitiveness, and geopolitical autonomy, demanding long-term, coordinated attention beyond short-term political cycles. Europe’s ability to secure raw materials, battery metals, and critical industrial inputs will define its role in the global energy transition and high-tech manufacturing sectors.
