Speaking to AFP in Washington, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said rare earths were a key topic in around two hours of talks with his G7 counterparts on Wednesday.
He expressed hope, however, that Canada and its allies can find solutions together to "move from dependence to resilience."
"Around the table, we have all the solutions to address this issue, including Canada, which has critical minerals," he said.
In early October, China announced fresh controls on the export of rare earth technologies and items, drawing a fiery rebuke from US President Donald Trump.
Trump swiftly threatened to slap an additional 100-percent US tariff on goods from China, a move that would again snarl supply chains.
Champagne's remarks to AFP came on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's fall meetings, where he chaired the gathering of G7 finance leaders.
Other leaders in the grouping -- consisting of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- have raised worries over China's rare earth controls as well.
Japan's finance minister Katsunobu Kato said his country is "deeply concerned" about the extensive restrictions China announced, urging for a united G7 response.
UK finance minister Rachel Reeves criticized Beijing's move as a "wrong decision" that is dangerous for the global economy.
And US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday slammed China's actions, vowing that: "We are not going to let a group of bureaucrats in Beijing try to manage the global supply chains."
Bessent also warned: "If some in the Chinese government want to slow down the global economy through disappointing actions and through economic coercion, the Chinese economy will be hurt the most."
Tit-for-tat tariffs between the United States and China hit triple-digit levels earlier this year, although Washington and Beijing have since de-escalated tensions.
But their truce remains shaky, with Trump previously also threatening to scrap a potential meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after Beijing announced the rare earth curbs.
During their talks in Washington, G7 finance ministers also discussed "the challenges to global economic growth and the need to promote and advance more inter-G7 trade, with particular focus on imbalances and critical minerals," a statement said.
Japan urges united G7 response to China rare earths curbs
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 16, 2025 -
Group of Seven nations should unite in responding to China's rare-earth export curbs, Japan's finance minister said Thursday, as his UK counterpart similarly slammed Beijing's restrictions.
"Japan is deeply concerned about the extensive export restrictions on rare earths announced by China last week, and the G7 should unite in dealing with the issue," Katsunobu Kato told reporters in Washington.
Global economic leaders are gathered in the US capital this week for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's fall meetings, and Beijing's latest restrictions are a key point of discussion among G7 finance leaders and others.
"I think that is the wrong decision, and I think that is dangerous for the global economy," UK finance minister Rachel Reeves said of the rare earth curbs.
Speaking on the sidelines of the fall meetings, Reeves added: "I very much welcome efforts led by Canada and also the US through the G7 to look at how we can improve our security when it comes to critical minerals."
She said she was keen to work with her counterparts.
Besides Britain and Japan, the G7 grouping consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
On Wednesday, the European Union's economy chief told AFP in an interview that no concrete decisions have been made at the EU level, but that the bloc is "ready to engage and to coordinate" on a response to Beijing's actions.
Beijing announced on October 9 new controls on the export of rare-earth technologies and items.
China is the world's leading producer of the minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronic and defence industries.
They have been a major sticking point in trade negotiations between China and the United States.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday slammed the new curbs as "China versus the world", vowing that Washington and its allies would "neither be commanded nor controlled".
Bessent also told a forum hosted by CNBC that he planned to speak with European allies, Australia, Canada, India and other Asian democracies -- signaling a push for broader support beyond the G7 economies.
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