WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) questioned Department of State Senior Bureau Official Jonathan Pratt on securing energy supply chains through U.S.-Africa partnerships, mitigating Chinese energy investments, and countering human rights abuses connected to Chinese-owned cobalt mines.
Jonathan Pratt testified at today’s Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing.
On Wyoming Rare Earth Minerals:
“Ambassador Pratt, so China controls what, 85 percent of the world’s critical minerals processing capacity?
“In fact, China has control over a significant percentage of Africa’s mining sector.
“And they get things there and take them to China for the processing.
“And we’re taking steps here in the United State to break this dependence.
“Earlier this month, the Secretary of Energy was in Wyoming with us.
“The Brook Mine in Wyoming broke ground, it’s the first rare earth mine to open in the U.S. in 70 years.
“This is going to produce rare earths vital for defense and advanced technologies. Critical.
“So how can the U.S. and African countries collaborate, to make sure that we can build some supply chains that challenge China’s dominance? So that never again will we find ourselves dependent on China, or any foreign source.”
“It just seems to me that the Chinese Community Party has been really targeting investments, in African countries, in order to expand their political influence, their economic influence, their strategic goals.
“I mean you look at the whole Belt and Road Initiative and different things that they’ve done.
“I was in Djibouti visiting Wyoming National Guard troops.
“You fly in and there’s this base for ships that they’re building right there.
“And this pinch point, the Gulf of Aden, where it comes down to go up into the Red Sea.
“It is a narrow area – the big base there.
“Going into Djibouti, you go through Addis Ababa, big terminal for Chinese – for air supply.
“There’s a project, and the Chairman knows about this, with our time with Senator Inhofe, who spent a lot of time in Ethiopia. Very involved.
“Something called ‘Project Mercy,’ a hospital.
“Baylor medical students would go there to train, and to help, and to learn .
“And a lot of U.S. involvement there, used to be kind of a dirt road, and now it’s a beautiful road with signs, ‘Brought to you by your friends from China.’ They built the road!
“It’s a U.S. active medical center that China seems to try to control.
“So many areas in terms of their effort to try to go with influence – political, economic, strategic.
“So, it seems their investments are focused on large projects and natural resources.
“Can you just talk about what risk these Chinese investments in critical minerals pose to us, long-term in the United States, if we don’t do something to counter it?”
“Well you mentioned the Congo, the D.R.C., they produce about 80 percent of the world’s cobalt.
“I saw that Secretary of State Rubio was just involved, and the President as well, with an agreement between Rwanda and the D.R.C.
“A peace agreement after so many years of war.
“China owns or holds stakes in 15 of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the Congo.
“In 2023, over half of the D.R.C. mine workers reported children working, working in the sites.
“You know, 4 out of the 5 of the cobalt mine workers reported forced labor conditions.
“China itself has a well-documented history of forced labor, the Uyghurs, and what has gone there.
“What role should we be playing in terms of investment, in terms of diplomatic efforts in combating this forced labor linked to these supply chains?
“And what’s the best strategy you think to eliminate the practice of forced labor going on there?”
###