My message really is that there is a lot of urgency here. I read the statement by Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi after their bilateral meeting at the Olympics. Clearly, they're getting much closer together and much more interested in creating the lines of what could be an intensified sort of cold war dynamic.
The idea that China could use its control of critical minerals to coerce nations is something that is pretty much a no-brainer. In other words, they're going to do it if they can. This is part of their modus operandi to expand their influence in the world and their overall plan to displace the United States as the dominant global power by 2050, as articulated by Mr. Xi.
Australia, for example, sends a lot, or most, of its lithium production to China for processing. We really have to get together with our allies and try to figure out ways to establish supply chains that will not be running through countries with whom we may have very hostile relations in the future and who may use their control of critical minerals to further their geostrategic purposes.