US-China Tussle for Rare Earths in Africa and Latin America Intensifies
LONDON-UK, December 8, 2025
A new and highly consequential geopolitical front has opened between the United States and China, centered on the intense competition for rare earths and critical minerals in resource-rich nations across Africa and Latin America.
As the global economy pivots to green energy and advanced technology, control over the supply chain for these essential elements—vital for everything from electric vehicle batteries to advanced military hardware—has become a paramount national security concern.
Reports from Washington D.C., USA, and Beijing, China, indicate that both nations are dramatically escalating their diplomatic, financial, and logistical efforts in countries like Angola, Africa, and across South America to secure future supply dominance, creating a high-stakes tussle that is reshaping the economic landscape of developing nations.
Headline Points
• Critical Mineral
Competition: The US and China are locked in a fierce, global race to secure access to rare earths and critical minerals, essential for green technology and defense manufacturing.
• Focus on Developing Nations: The primary battlegrounds are resource-rich countries in Africa (e.g., Angola) and Latin America, where both superpowers are offering massive infrastructure and investment packages.
• US Strategic Shift: The US is leveraging initiatives like the National Security Blueprint to combat China’s growing influence, framing the competition as a matter of securing Western technology independence.
• China’s Advantage: Beijing continues to hold an advantage, often through long-term, less conditional engagement models that resonate well with resource-rich nations looking for rapid infrastructure development.
• Geopolitical Risk: The intensified competition risks creating new economic dependencies and instability in the host countries, as they are forced to navigate the demands of two competing global powers.
The Race for Technological Dominance
The rare earths—a group of 17 chemically similar metallic elements—are not technically rare, but extracting, processing, and refining them is complex, costly, and environmentally challenging.
China currently dominates the global supply chain, controlling a vast majority of the world’s processing capacity.
This strategic control has become a major vulnerability for the West, particularly the United States, which is now seeking to establish resilient, non-Chinese supply chains.
The current administration in the US has framed this competition as a necessary step to protect its technological future and national security.
The National Security Blueprint explicitly identifies the need to counter competing powers’ influence in key resource regions, particularly in Latin America, where China has dramatically increased its investment in recent years.
This strategic shift is moving US foreign policy away from purely military engagement toward massive, coordinated economic and development diplomacy.
However, the Chinese approach, often characterized by swift and substantial investments in infrastructure (such as roads, ports, and power plants) in exchange for mineral rights, continues to be highly effective.
In Angola, Africa, for instance, Chinese firms have been instrumental in post-conflict reconstruction, earning favor that translates into preferential access to mineral concessions.
Africa and Latin America as New Battlegrounds
The competition is most evident in regions previously overlooked by Western investors. In Africa, nations are experiencing a surge in attention from both Washington and Beijing.
The US strategy involves offering clear, transparent deals and establishing partnerships aimed at developing the entire local value chain—not just extraction, but also local processing and refining.
The goal is to present a more sustainable and less extractive alternative to the Chinese model, focusing on responsible governance and long-term economic independence for the host countries.
However, the reality on the ground is complex. Many developing nations prioritize immediate infrastructure gains and high-speed development, which the Chinese approach often delivers with fewer bureaucratic hurdles.
The nations themselves are seeking to leverage this heightened competition to their advantage, demanding better terms, more local job creation, and increased environmental protections from both global partners.
A government official in Luanda, Angola, stated recently that their nation’s policy is to diversify its partnerships, ensuring that no single foreign power gains undue influence over their sovereign resources.
The Economic and Geopolitical Stakes
The stakes in this tussle are enormous. For the United States and the European Union, a secure and diversified supply of these critical materials is the foundation upon which their entire green transition—from electric cars to wind turbines—will be built.
Losing the competition for these resources would mean being permanently reliant on a primary geopolitical competitor for the most important industrial inputs of the 21st century.
For the developing nations involved, the competition presents both an opportunity and a risk. The opportunity lies in the sudden influx of desperately needed capital and infrastructure investment.
The risk, however, is being caught in a new form of geopolitical dependency or economic coercion. Should the US-China rivalry intensify further, these countries could become collateral damage, facing economic penalties or political pressure if they are seen as too closely aligned with one side.
The battle for rare earths has thus moved beyond simple trade policy and into the core of global strategic competition, with the future of advanced technology and global economic power hinging on who can successfully secure these vital mineral supply lines across the globe.
