Critical Raw Materials and Rare Earths: a Study of the EU and China’s Strategic Narratives

Source: Freepik

March 20, 2026

Key Takeaways

1. The EU and China have pushed contrasting and often opposing Strategic Narratives around their policies on Rare Earth Materials (REEs), Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) and Green Minerals. 2. The EU argues that the scarcity of CRMs, combined with their crucial need for the green and digital transitions, makes China’s near-monopoly on them dangerous. De-risking and diversification are presented as logical solutions to address vulnerabilities that can and will be exploited. 3. China argues that as a responsible actor, it has the right to restrict its exports of REEs to prevent military use and to protect world peace, and that trade defence mechanism and diversification by the EU are unfair responses to its own policies. 4. Both Strategic Narratives suffer from inner tensions and mutual misperceptions, that ultimately damage EU-China relations by misrepresenting the intentions and policies of each other. 5. Strategic Narratives and their analysis are useful to understand the EU’s and China’s vision of the world, the role they play in it and the justifications they give for their respective policies towards CRMs and REEs. EU-China relations would however gain from more accurate mutual characterisation.

Introduction

In order to investigate which Strategic Narratives the EU and China have been pushing since 2023 surrounding critical materials, rare earths and green minerals, this paper uses qualitative Narrative Analysis of official documents, speeches and statements of EU and Chinese institutions, to identify both entities’ Strategic Narratives used from 2023 to February 2026.