They view Africa, which houses approximately 30% of the world's crucial mineral reserves, as a potential solution and argue that more can be done to assist African nations in adding value to minerals before export. However, China maintains its lead. According to the Washington-based think-tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the value of China's imports of minerals and energy in 2022 was double that of the US and the EU combined. China's prominent role in Africa's lithium exemplifies this dominance. China's sense of urgency is driven by its ambition to maintain dominance in supply chains. Despite having only 8% of global lithium reserves, China refines 60-70% of the metal. The midstream firms responsible for the chemical processing, some of which belong to mining conglomerates like Huayou, require constant supply.