As the West strives to reduce its reliance on China, the EU and Australia have struck a deal to co-build a supply chain of critical minerals, which are an essential to both the green and digital transitions.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the two will seek to diversify the EU’s supply and boost the domestic sector of Australia.
“In a world powered by technology, those who lead are those who control the most critical technologies, and their supply chains,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said in April.
“Chips, batteries, electric cars: our competitiveness will necessarily depend on our capacity to produce and deploy them.”
The agreement comes amid growing concerns about China’s digital power.
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