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According to a report from Japan's "Sankei Shimbun" on January 17, 2021, Japan, the United States, Australia, and India have begun to strengthen cooperation in the field of rare earths and rare metals in order to obtain stable supplies. The intergovernmental consultations held at the end of 2020 confirmed the cooperation between the four countries.

Japan, the United States, Australia and India have been promoting cooperation in areas such as defense, and now intend to extend the scope of cooperation to the field of resource security. The four countries of Japan, the United States, Australia and India held a video-based consultation on December 18, 2020, and discussed the supply chain of rare metals. The four countries will consider cooperating to establish a supply chain that is less dependent on China.

China occupies a high share of global rare earth production, which is used to make high-performance motors for pure electric vehicles and wind power generation equipment. In addition to rare earths, in the field of rare metals, China also accounts for more than 60% of the global share of cobalt smelting. Cobalt is used to produce batteries for pure electric vehicles.

The trend of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is accelerating worldwide, and it is estimated that the demand for rare metals that are indispensable in battery production will increase. U.S. President-elect Biden stated that he will return to the "Paris Agreement" aimed at coping with global warming. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also proposed the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Rare metals are essential for Japan and the United States to achieve these goals.

If the demand for rare metals surges, China, which controls the production of rare metals, is likely to expand its influence. This is why Japan, the United States, Australia and India set out to strengthen cooperation.