The Chinese export restrictions "illustrate the urgency for Europe and Germany to quickly reduce their dependency on critical raw materials now," said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the BDI German industrial association.
In a position paper, the group said that Germany's and Europe's dependency on mineral raw materials such as rare earths from China was "already greater than that of oil and natural gas from Russia".
Another German industry group, Bitkom, called for steps to massively increase Germany and Europe's digital sovereignty .
Last week, European Union member states adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act, a centrepiece of the EU strategy to ensure industry can compete with the United States and China.
The BDI's Niedermark said that agreement to recycle and process raw materials sent an important signal but called for a similar push to establish domestic mining in Europe.
Persons:
Wolfgang Niedermark, Bernhard Rohleder, Niedermark, Rachel More, Hakan Ersen, Madeline Chambers, Miranda Murray, Emelia
Organizations:
Union, Thomson
Locations:
BERLIN, Europe, China, Germany, Russia, Berlin, Ukraine, Beijing, United States