Quad nations to concentrate on clean-energy provide chain, says Australia PM By Reuters

(Reuters) – America, Japan, India and Australia will work to enhance the safety of provide chains for important applied sciences similar to clear power and to ease a world semiconductor scarcity, mentioned Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The Quad nations, of their first in-person summit https://www.reuters.com/world/china/quad-leaders-meet-white-house-amid-shared-china-concerns-2021-09-24 on Friday in Washington, agreed on a partnership to safe important infrastructure, the White Home mentioned.

Morrison informed reporters after the assembly this can embody connecting Australia’s uncooked minerals with manufacturing and processing capabilities, and with finish customers in the US, India and Japan, in accordance with a transcript launched on Saturday by his authorities.

Australia is the world’s greatest provider of uncommon earths exterior of China, and is a significant provider of minerals utilized in electrical car batteries, similar to nickel, and cobalt.

Whereas the leaders didn’t publicly discuss with China, they repeatedly insisted on rules-based behaviour in a area the place China has been attempting to flex its muscle mass. Beijing criticised the group as “doomed to fail.”

The opposite Quad leaders expressed appreciation for Australia’s function in supplying important supplies “as a result of that may be a mandatory provide for the numerous industries and processing works that they function themselves”, Morrison mentioned.

“On important minerals, Australia is likely one of the greatest producers, however we consider we will play a much bigger function in a important provide chain that’s supporting the applied sciences of the long run.”

Australia will host a clean-energy provide chain summit subsequent 12 months, aiming to develop a roadmap for constructing such provide chains within the Indo-Pacific area, Morrison mentioned.

The Quad additionally mentioned methods to higher safe a semiconductor provide, Morrison mentioned, as world carmakers and different producers have minimize manufacturing because of the scarcity made worse by a COVID-19 resurgence in key Asian semiconductor manufacturing hubs.

“That is an ecosystem we wish to create and we wish to do this… within the area,” he mentioned.