South Korea will seek closer cooperation with China to stabilize supplies of rare earth minerals critical to its high-tech industries, the government said Thursday.

The US secretary of state on Wednesday urged collective action to address “dangerously concentrated” rare earth supply chains.

China dominates the production of rare earths that go into the permanent magnets used in industries crucial to the energy transition, such as wind turbines and electric vehicles, putting the metals at the centre of trade tensions with the US. But building new mines is hugely expensive, risky and time consuming.

China urges global cooperation to maintain stability in critical mineral supply chains as the US prepares to discuss reducing reliance on Chinese dominance before a major meeting with President Trump.

Japan said Monday it has successfully drilled and retrieved deep-sea sediment containing rare earth minerals from the seabed near a remote island, as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on China.