Quad countries agree to diversify critical mineral supplies amid China concerns

The United States, Japan, India and Australia have pledged to work together to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as worries grow over China's dominance in resources vital to new technologies. The four countries said in a joint statement that they were establishing the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, aimed at "collaborating on securing and diversifying" supply chains. They offered little detail but made clear the goal was to reduce reliance on China, which has used restrictions as leverage as the US in turn curbs its access to semiconductors and threatens steep tariffs. China holds major reserves of several key…