How is the United States decreasing its dependence on China for critical minerals? From building a strategic stockpile through Project Vault to coordinating with allies and partners to set up resilient critical mineral supply chains, the United States is pursing multiple options to secure stable access to critical mineral inputs from places other than China. However, China’s global dominance in critical mineral mining and processing makes complete decoupling an unappealing economic decision. As the United States starts and strengthens its own critical mineral supply chains and weighs the level of reliance it feels comfortable having on Chinese ones, other countries are considering how they want to fit into the global network and which country will be a better partner to work with.
Cory Combs joined us on July 23, 2026, to discuss what the United States is doing to decrease its dependence on China for critical minerals.
Cory Combs
Cory Combs oversees supply chain research and the energy and climate verticals at Trivium China, where he and his team provide research and strategic advisory services for a range of government agencies, MNCs, investors, and NGOs. Cory is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a fellow of the Penn Project on U.S.-China Relations, and a participant in various international Track II dialogues. He is a regular commentator in global media and contributor to academic research, including in the Springer Nature Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. He previously consulted on renewable and nuclear energy commercialization for the U.S. Department of Energy.