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The International Extraction of Natural Resources by China and Its Effects on the Geopolitical Climate

December 30, 2025
Adrienne Wang

China is no stranger to the extraction of natural resources, having found itself to be a global powerhouse in this realm. Not only dominating the supply of critical rare earth minerals, developing green tech and establishing new alliances, China has appeared to position itself well while also opening a floodgate of arguments to make on the January Public Forum topic, “The People’s Republic of China should substantially reduce its international extraction of natural resources.”

The Background on China’s Ventures with Natural Resource Extraction

To understand the importance of China’s role internationally in its extractive activities, debaters can first delve into statistics of just how much the country’s control spans. Today, China has power over 60% of the global lithium supply chain, holds 35% of global rare earth element mineral reserves, and its massive Belt and Road Initiative has been instrumental in its regional development. The Belt and Road Initiative. With the BRI, over 150 countries have made the decision to sign cooperation agreements, committing to shared goals with China in infrastructure building. These Chinese state-owned mining conglomerates have thus taken over much of Africa’s rare-earth minerals and other resources. Hence, the party’s legitimacy has been built and rests on rising prosperity and investment in withdrawing natural materials while also displaying exploitative behavior towards these capitals.

China’s Position

China has benefited from natural resource extraction internationally. They have a monopoly on these markets and have fueled their industrialization and growth. Through the demand and supply of natural resources, China has participated in advanced industries and developed new technologies. This has played a major part in economic output, occupations for citizens, and most crucially, gaining influence to become the new global leader of the world. Although there has been some pushback, such as export restrictions by the United States and territorial disputes with the Philippines, China has remained steadfast in continuing its progress.

The World’s Position

From the Western viewpoint, China has challenged and posed a threat to the existing norms of governance and democracy held by actors such as the United States and European nations. Furthermore, their monopoly has incited regional tensions in the South China Sea, which have prevented fish cooperation and fired up the ongoing conflict with the United States. For the countries that find themselves in cooperation with China, many of them have not experienced the most desirable results. A notable instance is Pakistan’s port city, Gwadar, becoming overrun by China and creating a bitter atmosphere among citizens. China’s profits in Africa have also been dubbed an instance of colonialism, where nations have fallen into debt while the CCP has securitized resources.

What can debaters do with this information?

Affirmative arguments can consist of positions based on the world’s perspective. Many popular advantages/contentions include the South China Sea, where continued Chinese extraction can spark war with the Philippines, as well as competition with the United States escalating and leading to a plethora of scenarios that all culminate in extinction. For the negative, they often take on China’s outlook. The country’s current resource leverage has allowed them to maintain competitiveness and preserve a consolidation of power that has been built up for the past decades. Any major fiat action of substantially reducing their activities would open the way for hegemonic decline and collapse, causing miscalculation, escalation, and nuclear war.