China urges 'constructive role' as US set to host summit on critical minerals

China on Wednesday urged a "constructive role" by all parties as the United States prepared to host a summit on critical minerals, a sector that has become a growing point of strategic competition between the two countries.

The US is set to host the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on Wednesday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcoming delegations from more than 50 countries, including European nations. Officials say the meeting aims to strengthen cooperation on supply chains and reduce vulnerabilities in the critical minerals sector.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing's position on "maintaining the security and stability of global critical mineral industrial and supply chains remains unchanged."

Lin said that "all parties have a responsibility to play a constructive role to this end."

"Let me point out that China always maintains that countries need to follow the principles of market economy and international economic and trade rules, step on communication and dialog strongly keep the industrial and supply chain stable and unimpeded and advance the steady growth of world economy," Lin added.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that he is launching a new strategic critical minerals reserve to ensure that American manufacturing can reduce its reliance on China.

While Trump did not mention China by name, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directly pointed to Beijing as a key reason for the reserve's formation.