EU Almost 100 Percent Dependent on China for 17 Key Raw Materials

JAKARTA - The European Union (EU) is almost 100 percent dependent on China for 17 key raw materials.

"There are 17 main raw materials, and dependence on China for these materials is practically 100 percent," said the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stephane Sejourne at the European Pulse Forum in Madrid, reported by ANTARA, Saturday, April 11.

"This situation endangers the economic security of the European Union, especially when switching to a more digitized economy," he added.

At the same time, the EU is seeking to reduce its dependence on any country to below 60 percent by developing mining and processing of raw materials within Europe, as well as diversifying supplies through cooperation with other partners, Sejourne said.

As for China, the country "decreases prices, sometimes quite aggressively" to make European investments unprofitable and hinder the implementation of reducing dependence, said the vice president.

"Therefore, the European Union is considering the possibility of developing cooperation with countries such as Japan and South Korea," Sejourne said.

The official added that the bloc stressed the implementation of the strategy in the next 12 months by allocating around 3 billion euros (around Rp60 trillion).