Australia is increasingly coming into play as an alternative supplier of rare earths. Although China’s lead in this area appears to be unassailable, the country, which is rich in mineral resources, could become a serious competitor in the long term. The country is also working on a closed value chain for these critical raw materials, from extraction to refining. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese does not categorically rule out the possibility of Chinese companies investing in this sector; he has promised to examine corresponding projects, as the South China Morning Post reports.
This sounds surprising at first, because the relationship between the two countries is currently not the best, also because the previous government rejected several Chinese bids for Australian companies, writes The Sydney Morning Herald. In addition, Finance Minister Jim Chalmers announced at the end of November that he wanted to examine investments in the sector more strictly, which was judged in Chinese media to be clearly directed against China.
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