China urges certain countries not to politicize mineral issues, build exclusive supply chains: Chinese envoy

Certain countries should not turn critical mineral issues into a security issue or politicize and instrumentalize it, nor should they build exclusive supply chain systems by resorting to bloc confrontation, said China's permanent representative to the United Nations Fu Cong on Thursday.

Speaking at an open briefing of the UN Security Council on "Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security," Fu pointed out that the international community must strengthen unity and cooperation to jointly build stable and resilient resource and industrial supply chains, thereby bolstering global economic growth.

Fu also stated that China calls on the international community to create a favorable environment for maintaining supply chain security, fully respect the sovereignty of nations over their natural resources, and steadfastly uphold the principles of open cooperation and mutual benefit.

He noted that China will continue to unswervingly promote high-level opening up and make greater contributions to maintaining the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

"The formation and development of global industrial and supply chains result from economic globalization and market mechanisms, which is a historical and objective process. Political manipulation or artificial interference will only further disrupt global markets and cooperation, ultimately backfiring on itself," Fu said.

China leads the world in direct utilization of geothermal energy, with its geothermal heating and cooling area reaching 1.65 billion square meters, according to the China Geological Survey (CGS) on Sunday.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), the country will focus on three geothermal regions -- north China, northeast China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as four geothermal belts including the southeastern coastal area, to identify target zones for exploration and development, the CGS said.

Geothermal energy is a stable, low-carbon renewable resource with substantial reserves and high efficiency. China has long maintained the world's leading position in the scale of direct geothermal energy utilization.