United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent invited Australia and India to a Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 12 to discuss critical minerals. This meeting comes after a G7 summit this past summer and a virtual meeting held in December 2025. The G7 consists of the United States, Britain, Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and the European Union. This meeting also comes shortly after reports of Australia’s agreement with the U.S. to counter China’s heightened placement in critical minerals on a global scale.

The decision to hold a meeting shortly after last month’s G7 virtual meeting came from Bessent himself. In an interview with Reuters, Bessent stated that he had been pushing for a meeting on this issue since the G7 summit last summer, and the December meeting that occurred with finance ministers. The meeting last summer concluded with the group agreeing to “secure supply chains and boost their economies,” according to the Business Standard.

The decision by Bessent to hold this meeting and extend an invitation to Australia and India provides an outlook on the importance of unity for the betterment of the globe on an economic scale. However, this meeting also stems from Australia’s desire to topple China’s dominance in the critical mineral supply chain; in my opinion, reducing reliance on China’s exports could lead to future conflict between China and other western countries. 

China has been a recent leader in the critical mineral supply chain, exporting minerals that are key for technology and defense. Western countries rely on China and its exports in order to strengthen themselves. China, however, has begun imposing stricter regulations on these materials and exports. Alongside the U.S. and Australian agreement, countries are attempting to find sourcing for these materials that does not rely on China. 

According to Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama after the Jan. 12 meeting, there was “broad agreement on the need to swiftly reduce reliance on China for rare earths,” through mechanisms such as price floors and tariffs. These agreements could have fierce impacts on the said countries economics at play. Australia will most likely be a leading force in methods to avoid China’s exports. Without dependence on China, these countries must work together to find a way to fuel technology and defense mechanisms with rare earth minerals

WORKS CITED

Rueters. “Bessent Says Australia, India Invited to G7 Meeting on Critical Minerals | Reuters.” Reuters, January 9, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/bessent-says-australia-india-invited-g7-meeting-critical-minerals-2026-01-10/.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-urges-partners-allies-increase-critical-minerals-supply-chain-resiliency-2026-01-12/