Washington reduces resource vulnerability from China, forming a new system of partnerships with Central African countries and Arab monarchies

The first phase of the geopolitical confrontation between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, which unfolded from 2018 to 2023, exposed a critical vulnerability of the West to Beijing’s monopolistic control over global supply chains of strategic minerals.

During this period, China consistently consolidated its dominance in the extraction and processing of rare earth elements, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, and other metals essential for the production of high-tech products and “green” energy.

This created a unique lever of influence for Beijing, allowing it to exert pressure on both the United States and the broader democratic bloc, whose industries became dependent on Chinese supplies.

Africa played a key role in establishing this monopolistic position, a continent where Beijing has actively expanded its presence in the extractive sectors over the past two decades, securing favorable concession agreements and advancing large-scale infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.