Demand for rare earths needed for permanent magnets in military jets and other uses would rise 16-fold in the same period as Britain sought to rebuild its military capabilities. Demand for lithium alone would increase 45-fold between now and 2030, leaving the UK in a high-risk dependency on China.
MPs were told the processing stage was where bottlenecks lay. China dominates the refining of seven categories of minerals, including refined lithium for electric vehicles and rare earths used in the fuselage and wings of military aircraft to withstand temperature extremes.
China has a stranglehold on the world’s supply of rare earths and other critical minerals, and on refined byproducts used in military jets, car-locking systems, fridges and washing machines.
The committee found that with China capable of suddenly turning off rare earth supplies, as it did in 2025, dependence on Beijing was a strategic vulnerability for the UK economy and national security.
“Yet 16 years after China first weaponised its chokehold over rare earths, Britain remains dangerously exposed,” the report said. It was the second time in a week that Byrne’s committee had criticised the government’s China policy. Committee chair Liam Byrne said critical minerals were “the alpha of the new economy”. “We cannot rearm Britain, build AI or deliver net zero unless we secure the minerals these technologies depend on,” he said.
MPs on the business select committee said delivering net zero was also at risk and called for an urgent centralised policy plus funding for mines and supply diversification.