Statement on Critical Raw Materials
We, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, firmly believe that de-risking by reducing our countries’ dependencies on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a strategic imperative.
In this context, we pledge to work together to ensure secure, ethical and sustainable access to critical raw materials, including in extraction and processing.
Critical raw materials are crucial for the green transition and future economic growth. However, the PRC controls a significant part of the critical raw materials global value chain, leading to market imbalances, distortionary practices and strategic dependencies.
Moreover, according to numerous credible reports, there are serious allegations of environmental and human rights abuses by Chinese companies, while investments under the PRC’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are further marred by corruption, unsustainable debt and undermining of the rule of law.
Trade and investment should be mutually beneficial and support sustainable development both, in developing and developed countries.
We, therefore, call on our governments, in cooperation with the private sector, to:
- Strengthen coordination on investments into critical raw materials projects
- Generate sustainable investment alternatives to the BRI, including, through investment banks and the private sector
- Maintain up to date geological surveys
- Create synergy between critical raw materials projects and infrastructure programmes
- Reduce dependencies on the PRC in both the extraction and processing of critical raw materials
- Develop a programme of grants, loans or tax credits for companies looking to expand production capacity and diversify supply chains
- Strengthen provisions for screening of foreign direct investments
- Boost circularity through a system of collection, separation and recycling of critical raw material
- Uphold the highest environmental and human rights standards
- Utilise the use of recognised certification schemes for responsible mining
- Support sustainability programmes and engagement with local communities
- Implement corporate due diligence and social responsibility frameworks
Signed By:
Miriam Lexmann, MEP
Mykola Knyazhytskyy, MP
Oleksandr Merezhko, MP
Avdullah Hoti, MP
Sen. Andre Gattolin
Sen. Barry Ward
Catalin Tenita, MP
Sen. James Paterson
François-Xavier Bellamy, MEP
Sen. Malcolm Byrne
Rep. Georges Dallemagne
Sen. Eduardo Nakayama
Sen. Gustavo Leite
Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, MEP
Michael Brand, MdB
Clr. Elisabet Lann
Engin Eroglu, MEP
Guri Melby, MP
Lucy Akello, MP
Sen. Olivier Cadic
Boris Mijatovic, MdB
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, MP
Stewart McDonald, MP
Fatmir Mediu, MP
Sen. Pavel Fischer
Rep. Samuel Cogolati
Morten Messerschmidt, MP
Antonio Miloshoski, MP
Tom Van Der Lee, MP
Eva Decroix, MP
Fabian Molina, MP
Reinhard Bütikofer, MEP
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