Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ shore up minerals supply chains and counter China’s dominance?

Trump administration aims for deeper technology cooperation on new AI infrastructure with allies Reading Time:4 minutes Why you can trust SCMP Bochen Hanin Washington Published: 6:27am, 24 Dec 2025 In its push to secure supplies of critical minerals, the Donald Trump administration has increasingly looked abroad to reduce vulnerabilities in supply chains that underpin many of the world’s most advanced technologies. From China to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Ukraine, key strands of US foreign policy in recent months have centred on access to these materials – a group of roughly 60 minerals that the US Geological Survey considers…