Ted Cruz Asks Senior State Department Official How China Has Been Able To 'Outmaneuver' US In Africa

5 months ago

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of African Affairs, Jonathan Pratt, about China's expansion of its control over critical minerals in Africa.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, gentlemen.

00:02Ambassador Pratt, the Chinese Communist Party takes a whole-of-government and frankly whole-of-nation

00:07approach to advancing its national security interests.

00:11They use every tool they have – diplomacy, state-backed financing, state-owned enterprises

00:15and even military leverage – to gain control over critical minerals, especially in Africa,

00:21where some of the richest minerals are found.

00:25It is in the vital national security interest of the United States to ensure open and competitive

00:30access to critical minerals and materials.

00:34Our dependence on China for critical minerals is quite simply dangerous.

00:40Critical minerals power our defense – technology, space, and energy sectors.

00:46To put it bluntly, an F-35 requires about 900 pounds of rare earth elements, and a Virginia-class

00:54submarine needs over 9,000 pounds.

00:59Yet to meet these needs, we're forced to rely on China.

01:04That's completely unacceptable.

01:06The CCP has spent years deliberately building control over global critical mineral supply chains.

01:12Today they control major mining operations across the Democratic Republic of Congo and much

01:17of the continent.

01:19That's not just investment, it's control.

01:22It's dominance.

01:23And it comes at the expense of our African partners, while harming U.S. national interests.

01:29Ambassador Pratt, can you talk a bit about how China has been enabled to outmaneuver the

01:34United States in securing critical minerals with a breakdown by region in Africa?

01:39Ambassador Pratt, Ambassador Pratt.

01:41Thank you very much, Senator.

01:43I agree completely with the premise for your question.

01:47China has engaged in behavior that is corrupt, number one,

01:53with a lot of bribes and payoffs to secure agreements that favor their own companies.

01:58And they've also taken advantage of unfair labor practices to their own advantage,

02:05while also engaging in monopolistic behavior that has manipulated prices

02:11to the disadvantage of American companies.

02:15We have pursued a strategy of trying to break down this monopolistic behavior,

02:21especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

02:24by taking advantage of the peace agreement that we negotiated over the last few months

02:29and ensuring that there was an economic element to it

02:32and that we would be able to deliver for U.S. companies in the DRC,

02:38specific to the critical minerals that you mentioned.

02:41Across the continent, you were briefed by my colleague Troy Fattrell last month

02:47about our commercial strategy.

02:49We are adding to that our critical mineral strategy

02:52to ensure that U.S. companies have the access that they need in West Africa,

02:57Central Africa, East and South Africa.

03:00And we want to use mechanisms that exist like the DFC to achieve this,

03:04but mainly by getting in with the heads of state

03:08and ensuring that U.S. companies who have requested our assistance

03:11get the assistance that they deserve.

03:14So moving on to you, Mr. Woodard, as I alluded earlier,

03:19China's control over critical mineral supply chains

03:21has affected our national security posture on a global scale.

03:25We all saw this play out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

03:29It was a wake-up call to Americans realizing how much our economy

03:32is intertwined with China's in ways that many had not seen before.

03:38The CCP knows this, and they've spent decades securing control

03:43over global critical mineral supply chains

03:45as part of their broader civil-military fusion strategy

03:49to threaten our security interests.

03:51Please briefly describe the scope of China's critical mineral dominance

03:56from extraction to refining to downstream production

03:59and how that poses strategic risks to the U.S. economy and military.

04:04Thank you, Senator, and your question really gets at the heart of the banner, for sure.

04:13So China has spent a lot of time and effort and resources

04:16to lock down key supply chains,

04:20particularly the processing part of the supply chain and many minerals.

04:23So in some cases, graphite, for example,

04:27it's nearly 100 percent of the global supply

04:30will come through China at some point to be processed.

04:33And, you know, people unfamiliar with this

04:38may not recognize how close to home some of this can hit.

04:40So, for example, look at a cobalt.

04:43You know, China has spent a lot of effort overproducing cobalt.

04:47And that has damaged mining projects here in the United States.

04:51In Idaho, for example, there are some mines in Idaho

04:54that can't operate because the price is too low.

04:56And that is a clear and direct result of Chinese monopolies in the DRC

05:01overproducing, damaging our people here in the United States.

05:06And this is another example of why we need to engage in Africa

05:09to thwart what China is trying to do

05:12and engage there with our embassies and personnel.

05:15So to both of you, what can and should be done about this?

05:18How can we take back control of critical minerals

05:23throughout the supply chain?

05:27We were, Senator, thank you.

05:30We were very eager to take advantage of direct outreach

05:34from multiple major U.S. companies

05:37right at the beginning of this administration

05:39who wanted us to engage in the DRC

05:42and help them secure deals with that government.

05:46We simultaneously were receiving requests

05:50from the head of state of the DRC

05:52that they wanted U.S. companies to be involved.

05:57We linked this with our diplomatic strategy

06:00to pursue peace talks and host them,

06:03which these companies also requested that we do.

06:06And we've been supporting these American companies

06:08to secure deals on the very minerals

06:11that you listed in your briefing.

06:17Chairman, I'd emphasize a point

06:20that I think Senator Booker made in his opening comments,

06:22which is that in many cases,

06:24we're pushing on an open door

06:25in many of these countries in Africa.

06:27I was at the mining in Daba in Cape Town in February,

06:32which is Africa's largest mining conference.

06:35And to a person, all of the African leaders there,

06:38I spoke about, mentioned two things.

06:40One, the importance of what they call local beneficiation,

06:43which is trying to secure more of the value locally for them

06:47so that these countries can benefit

06:49from the geological patrimony that they have.

06:52But the second was that they want a choice.

06:54They are tired of just having China

06:57be the only option for them.

06:59So by us engaging with U.S.

07:03and like-minded companies in these countries,

07:05having our ambassadors be active on this front

07:08in African countries,

07:10we can make a real difference going forward,

07:12especially when we combine that with other tools

07:14like the things that DFC and XM are doing,

07:16the projects they're supporting as well.

07:18I'm a ranking member.

Ted Cruz Asks Senior State Department Official How China Has Been Able To 'Outmaneuver' US In Africa

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