China-Australia critical mineral tensions in spotlight as Li Qiang visits Perth

The gulf between Beijing and Canberra over Chinese investment in Australia’s critical minerals industry is expected to take center-stage on the final day of Premier Li Qiang’s visit, when he joins Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the western mining capital of Perth. Australia is the world’s largest producer of lithium and has vast holdings of critical minerals and metals that are key to the green energy transition, including copper and rare earths. However, Canberra has recently been working with Washington to diversify global supply chains of such materials.