China-friendly outlet casts mineral export bans as a lever for technology

Writing in China-US Focus on 2 November, Wang Youming of Tsinghua University's BRICS economic think tank argues that great-power rivalry is driving a new wave of resource nationalism. He uses the term to mean producer countries attaching conditions to exports so that processing and technology move onto their own soil instead of raw materials leaving unprocessed. In his view, great-power demand for resources such as copper and lithium will rise by 400–600% over the next 10 years.

Wang notes that 12 African countries have introduced new mineral export rules in quick succession. Zimbabwe has banned exports of tungsten and antimony and will halt lithium concentrate exports next year. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has capped cobalt exports at 96,600 tonnes for this year and next. Ghana has cut the maximum term of foreign mining leases from 30 years to 20, and Mali has raised its local ownership requirement from 20% to 35%.

The author sees the same trend elsewhere. Indonesia has banned nickel ore exports since 2020 and has cut its nickel mining quota from 379 million tonnes in 2025 to 250–270 million tonnes this year. Vietnam has placed 17 critical minerals under strategic control, and Chile, Argentina, Peru and Bolivia have agreed on a joint critical minerals alliance. According to Wang, the United States is responding with pressure and incentives, and plans 500 million dollars for the Lobito Corridor railway. China, by contrast, is presented as the party that builds partnerships through technology transfer and training.