WASHINGTON: Canada's finance minister voiced optimism Thursday that the Group of Seven nations can "move from dependence to resilience" in the face of China's tightening rare earth export controls.
Speaking to AFP in Washington, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said rare earths were a key topic in around two hours of talks with his G7 counterparts on Wednesday.
He expressed hope, however, that Canada and its allies can find solutions together to "move from dependence to resilience."
"Around the table, we have all the solutions to address this issue, including Canada, which has critical minerals," he said.
Chinese export controls
In early October, China announced fresh controls on the export of rare earth technologies and items, drawing a fiery rebuke from US President Donald Trump.
Trump swiftly threatened to slap an additional 100-percent US tariff on goods from China, a move that would again snarl supply chains.
Champagne's remarks to AFP came on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's fall meetings, where he chaired the gathering of G7 finance leaders.
Other leaders in the grouping -- consisting of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- have raised worries over China's rare earth controls as well.
‘Deeply concerned’
Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said his country is "deeply concerned" about the extensive restrictions China announced, urging for a united G7 response.
UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves criticized Beijing's move as a "wrong decision" that is dangerous for the global economy.
And US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday slammed China's actions, vowing that: "We are not going to let a group of bureaucrats in Beijing try to manage the global supply chains."
Bessent also warned: "If some in the Chinese government want to slow down the global economy through disappointing actions and through economic coercion, the Chinese economy will be hurt the most."
Tit-for-tat tariffs
Tit-for-tat tariffs between the United States and China hit triple-digit levels earlier this year, although Washington and Beijing have since de-escalated tensions.
But their truce remains shaky, with Trump previously also threatening to scrap a potential meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after Beijing announced the rare earth curbs.
During their talks in Washington, G7 finance ministers also discussed "the challenges to global economic growth and the need to promote and advance more inter-G7 trade, with particular focus on imbalances and critical minerals," a statement said.
