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NATO's military capabilities face significant risks from China's near-total dominance of seven critical materials essential to defense technologies.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense via email for comment.
Why it matters
Earlier this month, the 32-member NATO Defense Group released a report identifying “twelve defense-critical raw materials that are essential to the allied defense industry.” These materials include aluminum, beryllium, cobalt, gallium, germanium, graphite, lithium, manganese, platinum, rare earth elements, titanium and tungsten.
China dominates the production and processing of several of these materials, giving it influence over key components of the U.S. and its allies' defense technologies, while Beijing strengthens its strategic focus on Russia and continues to displace Washington as the dominant military power in the Western Pacific.
What you should know
China's control is most pronounced in materials such as gallium, accounting for 98 percent of global production. Gallium is critical to the production of powerful microchips used in cutting-edge military technologies such as advanced radar systems and missile guidance platforms.
The country also produces 60 percent of the world's germanium, which is essential for infrared optics such as night vision devices and laser targeting systems. Likewise, China controls over 70 percent of global graphite production, essential for batteries in helicopters, missiles and other defense platforms.
Fazry Ismail/AFP via Getty Images
In retaliation for U.S. export restrictions on advanced chip technologies, China last year imposed restrictions on exports of gallium, germanium and graphite to the U.S., exacerbating vulnerabilities.
China has also imposed export controls on tungsten, an extremely dense metal used in armor-piercing ammunition, and titanium, which is crucial for aircraft frames and propeller shafts due to its high strength and corrosion resistance.
The country's dominance in rare earth elements (REEs) – a group of 17 critical minerals – further exacerbates NATO's strategic concerns. REEs are the foundation of modern defense technologies, including precision-guided weapons, stealth platforms and advanced communications systems.
While China controls 55 percent of global aluminum production, the material's strength-to-weight ratio makes it crucial for building aircraft frames, naval hulls and missile systems.
For cobalt and lithium, China produces far fewer raw materials but dominates its refining processes, accounting for 68 and 72 percent of global capacity, respectively, in 2022. These materials are critical to jet engines, drone batteries and other military systems.
What people say
NATO: “The availability and secure supply of these materials is critical to maintaining NATO's technological edge and operational readiness…Identifying these key materials is NATO's first step toward building stronger, more protected supply chains essential to Allied defense and security are crucial.”
Center for Strategic and International Studies: “In terms of strengthening military readiness, China operates in a wartime posture while the United States operates in a peacetime posture. Even before the new restrictions, the U.S. defense industrial base lacked the capacity and augmentation capacity to meet defense technology production needs.
“Bans on vital minerals will only further enable China to outperform the United States in building these capabilities.”
What happens next
China's dominance over these strategic materials has alarmed policymakers in Washington. In response, the House of Representatives Special Committee on the Chinese Communist Party launched a working group to reduce U.S. dependence on China for critical minerals.
Last week, China's Ministry of Commerce announced new controls on gallium, germanium and tungsten, as well as antimony and “super-hard materials.” The move was widely interpreted as a warning to the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to further increase tariffs on Chinese goods.