Türkiye and China on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the field of rare earth elements and mining, with officials describing natural resources as holding major potential for greater collaboration between the two nations.
The deal, signed by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Guanghua, aims to facilitate collaboration between the two nations in mining and natural resources.
The agreement will also seek to identify cooperation opportunities in critical minerals in Türkiye, China, and third countries, and encourage joint efforts in mining technologies and digitization, a bulletin by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said.
"We aim to advance our cooperation in all areas of mining, especially regarding critical minerals, and hope that the agreement will soon lead to concrete projects," Bayraktar said.
He arrived in China on Tuesday for talks on nuclear cooperation and mining.
Bayraktar highlighted the growing demand for rare earth elements during the energy transition, noting that their importance is expected to increase significantly as electricity consumption rises globally.
During his meeting with Wang, Bayraktar emphasized the high level of energy cooperation with China, noting that many Chinese companies have invested in Türkiye and that high-level discussions over the past year have opened a new chapter in mining cooperation.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed commitment to exchange cooperation in energy as well as mining during their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Leaders' Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in July.
"We believe this MoU will serve as a legal framework and represents an important turning point that will further strengthen mining collaboration between the two nations," Bayraktar said.
He also noted Türkiye's recent discovery of significant rare earth and critical mineral reserves, stating that the nation is actively seeking partners to help develop and utilize these resources.
"We invite Chinese firms to invest in our country, explore and extract resources, and bring them into our economy," he said, emphasizing the importance of adding value to these minerals for sustainable development.
Guanghua echoed Bayraktar’s views, stating that mining holds great potential for cooperation between the two countries and that China is committed to developing "mutually beneficial, win-win" partnerships in this area.
Separately, Bayraktar addressed the International Mining Conference in China's northern port city of Tianjin, where he underscored the importance of critical minerals in the global energy transition.
He highlighted that demand for these minerals needs to increase fourfold by 2040 to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, as noted by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Bayraktar emphasized the importance of making critical minerals affordable and accessible and stressed the need for strong international and regional cooperation to ensure a successful energy transition, as well as consistent and smart policies in this area.
"Unfortunately, current supply and investment plans for many critical minerals are not sufficient to meet the rapidly accelerating growth of solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. From this perspective, strong international and regional cooperation in this area is becoming increasingly important," the minister noted.
On the sidelines of the conference, Bayraktar also met with ministers from Zimbabwe, Congo, and Tajikistan to discuss potential mining cooperation.