Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the trade war over the past year exposed how dependent most countries are on the critical minerals China has a stranglehold on.
"We want members to form a trading bloc among allies and partners, one that guarantees American access to American industrial might while also expanding production across the entire zone," Vance said at a meeting of foreign ministers at the State Department.
"What is before all of us is an opportunity at self-reliance that we never have to rely on anybody else except for each other, for the critical minerals necessary to sustain our industries and to sustain growth."