ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2023) Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday that is was necessary to prevent China from dictating prices for critical raw materials if the European Union wanted to compete at a global level.
"If we want to compete at a global level as an industrial country and continent, it is necessary to prevent the Chinese from dictating prices for raw materials," Tajani said after a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.
The minister noted that he had raised this concern during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. A common agreement is needed to achieve this goal, Tajani added.
In April, the EU drew up a list of 34 critical raw materials, 16 of which are considered strategic. In mid-July, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said it was essential to stop relying on China for critical raw materials. Otherwise, Italy risks moving from dependence on Russia for fossil fuel supplies to a much more dangerous dependence on Chinese raw material supplies, he said. Currently, 38% of Italy's GDP is produced using critical raw materials, much of which is imported, mainly from China, the minister added.
