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This paper critically evaluates an Australian government policy tilt in the critical minerals sector aimed at promoting ‘industrial upgrading’ and bolstering ‘economic security’. This policy tilt, which has occurred alongside an advocacy campaign pushing in the same direction, incentivises greater participation by local companies and those headquartered in geopolitically ‘like-minded’ countries on the one hand, while blocking further Chinese participation on the other. Yet contemporary economic reality, as well as Australia’s own experience under the traditional policy framework, support an alternative assessment that Canberra’s objectives around prosperity, security and supply chain resilience would be better served by continuing to recognise China as a potential partner.
Read the article online here.
Note: This article was published in the Australian Journal of International Affairs, pp. 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2024.2436380.
Author
James Laurenceson, Director, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney.