US Begins Mineral War with China; Central Asia Key in Trump’s Strategy

DID Press: Trump administration has launched a new phase in its mineral rivalry with China by allocating a $10 billion budget for a more extensive presence in Central Asia. This move essentially formalizes the United States’ broader strategy to diversify its mineral supply chains and reduce structural dependence on China.

As part of this strategy, Central Asia, one of the richest regions in the world in terms of underground resources, has become the focal point of Washington’s geo-economic focus. The region holds reserves of over 25 minerals critical to US industries, alongside significant deposits of manganese, chromium, lead, zinc, and titanium—elements that enhance its role in the industrial and technological rivalry between the two global powers.

This new initiative is part of a broader US effort to break China’s mineral monopoly and redesign the global raw materials supply map, a competition that now holds even greater geopolitical and geoeconomic significance than ever before.