China’s critical minerals dominance threatens US military supply chain: report

China’s tightening export controls on critical minerals could hit more than three-quarters of the United States’ weapons supply chain, according to a new study.

Researchers from Govini, a defence acquisition information firm, identified 80,000 weapons parts that were made using antimony, gallium, germanium, tungsten or tellurium – the global supply of which are all dominated by China – “meaning nearly 78 per cent of all [Pentagon] weapon systems are potentially affected”.

“China’s recent export bans and restrictions on critical minerals have exposed an open secret: despite political rhetoric, the United States is fundamentally dependent on China for essential components of its weapon systems,” the report said.

China imposed export controls on gallium and germanium in July 2023, tungsten and tellurium in February 2024 – together with bismuth, molybdenum and indium – and antimony in August 2024.

These materials are critical in manufacturing military equipment across all services – from 61.7 per cent of the Marine Corps’ weapons to 91.6 per cent of the Navy’s. In the past 15 years, the use of the five minerals in US weapons has increased by an average of 23.2 per cent per year, according to the report.