The United States has extended a significant invitation to India to participate in a high-level meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies. The meeting, scheduled for Monday in Washington, will focus on the strategic issue of securing global supply chains for critical minerals.
US Treasury Secretary Confirms India's Invitation
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the invitation in a statement to Reuters on Friday. Bessent revealed the news after a tour of the Minneapolis-area engineering lab of RV and boat manufacturer Winnebago Industries. While he confirmed India was among the countries invited, he noted he was unsure if India had formally accepted the invitation. The specific list of other invited nations beyond India was not immediately disclosed.
Secretary Bessent has been a key proponent for this focused discussion, having pressed for a separate meeting on critical minerals since the G7 leaders' summit last summer. Finance ministers from the group had already held a preliminary virtual meeting on the subject in December.
The Global Push to Counter China's Dominance
The urgency of the meeting stems from the overwhelming global dependence on China for processed critical minerals. According to data from the International Energy Agency, China refines between 47% and 87% of the world's copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths. These materials are essential for modern defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries, and various industrial refining processes.
The G7 bloc, which includes the United States, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and the European Union, is heavily reliant on these Chinese supplies. In response, the group agreed on an action plan last June aimed at securing their supply chains and boosting their economies against such concentrated dependencies.
Mounting Tensions and Strategic Moves
The upcoming Washington meeting takes place against a backdrop of escalating trade measures. Reuters reported that it follows recent accounts of China beginning to restrict exports of rare earths and powerful magnets containing them to Japanese companies. China has also moved to ban exports of dual-use items to the Japanese military.
Western nations have actively sought to reduce their reliance on China's critical minerals in recent years. This effort has intensified as China itself has imposed stricter export controls on these vital resources. Despite these tensions, Bessent noted that China is currently fulfilling its commitments to purchase US soybeans and ship critical minerals to American firms.
By inviting India, a major and fast-growing economy with significant strategic interests, the US and G7 allies are signaling a desire to build broader, more resilient partnerships to counter China's dominance in this crucial sector.
