CKN Report Presentation - China and Trade in Critical Raw Materials

Economic statecraft is emerging as a defining feature of the new era of great-power competition. As states increasingly leverage and weaponize globalized markets and interdependent supply chains for strategic gain, critical raw materials (CRMs) have become a central arena of geopolitical contestation. Essential for achieving key strategic objectives, including the energy transition and the digital modernization of militaries, CRMs are fundamental to resource security and ultimately national sovereignty and security.

Yet access to these materials is increasingly being disrupted by the dominant actor in global CRM supply chains: China. Beijing has consolidated its position and control across both the mining and processing components of the CRM value chains. Having progressively rolled out a range of tools to capitalize on this unmatched dominance, putting the survival of key European industries at risk.

This new CKN report establishes a framework for understanding the key principles that determine trade in critical mineral markets. It explores China’s role within these markets and analyses how Beijing’s recent exports controls are reorganizing CRM trade. The report also discusses efforts to develop critical mineral value chains outside China, with a particular focus on Japan. It concludes with key lessons and policy recommendations for Europe and the Netherlands.

This session provided an opportunity to discuss this topic with report authors: John Seaman (Institut français des relations internationals, IFRI), Vincent Donnen (Compagnie des métaux rares, CDMR) and Wouter Jacobs (Erasmus Commodity & Trade Centre). Following the welcome and introduction, the speakers presented the key findings of their report and engaged in a Q&A with the attendees.

About the speakers

• John Seaman is a Research Fellow in Ifri’s Center for Asian Studies, which he joined in 2009. He coordinates Ifri’s participation in a number of European research networks on China, including as a co-founder and coordinator the European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC) and a core participant in the Digital Power China (DPC) and ReConnect China (Horizon Europe) consortiums.
• Vincent Donnen worked as an economist for the French Ministry of Economy and Finance in Asia. A seasoned analyst, he then accumulated ten years of experience in finance, in the analysis and selection of Alternative and Long Only investment funds for EIM SA, then at Prisminvest SA, before co-founding CDMR in 2013. Vincent is a graduate of the IEP in Grenoble, a master's degree in business from the IEP in Lyon and the University of Chengdu. He holds the CIIA (Chartered International Investment Analyst), is a member of the Swiss Association of Financial Analysts (SFAA) and is a qualified financial analyst and wealth manager (Swiss Federal Diploma).
• Wouter Jacobs (PhD, 2007) is the founder and executive director of the Erasmus Commodity & Trade Centre (ECTC), fostering talent and ideas for future trade. He secured partnerships with 12 international firms through the Erasmus Trustfund. ECTC engages in academic and professional education, executive development, and applied research.