Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

US President Joe Biden is set to host President Alberto Fernández of Argentina for a bilateral meeting on Wednesday, the White House said in a statement. They will discuss how the US and Argentina can continue to make progress on areas including critical minerals, climate change, space and technology, according to the statement.

In recent years, clinging to a Cold War mentality and outdated concepts such as the zero-sum game, the US-led West has been aiming to form cliques or "small circles," to pursue nationalistic, populist policies, and incite confrontation in an attempt to "decouple" from China and build US-centric critical mineral supply chains. The US is reportedly import-reliant for more than 30 critical minerals that are essential for the manufacture of high technology devices and national defense applications. As the US increasingly places emphasis on the resiliency of its own supply chains, Washington has seen critical minerals as a new battleground for big powers, with "America first" being the guiding principle.

In June 2022, the US and key partner countries including Australia and Canada announced the establishment of the Minerals Security Partnership, an initiative to bolster critical mineral supply chains. Some analysts claimed that a "metallic NATO" was starting to take shape. 

South America is rich in mineral resources, and is an important source of lithium, aluminum and nickel ore for the world. It's natural that South American countries develop their relations with Washington because the US is a key importer of critical minerals. South America needs to continue expanding international cooperation and make the critical mineral industry a driving force to empower their industrialization, but in this process, it  should remain vigilant to avoid falling into a trap set by the US-led West, which aims to ramp up "decoupling" that could disrupt global critical mineral supply chains.

As the world looks for an energy revolution, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia - together referred to as the "Lithium Triangle" - have gained an important presence in the electric vehicle industry chain because lithium is a key metal used to make lithium-ion electric car batteries. It should be pointed out that China and those countries enjoy strong complementarity in strengthening cooperation in the mining and minerals sectors. 

The US lags behind China when it comes to domestic production and uptake of electric vehicles. From 2010 to 2020, China was the largest electric vehicle producer and accounted for about 44 percent of electric vehicles manufactured, with about 4.6 million units in both production and sales during the decade, according to CNBC. 

On the one hand, those South American countries cannot afford to lose the Chinese market, and on the other hand, Chinese-owned companies have also shown an increasing interest in enhancing critical mineral cooperation with South American countries. Such mutually beneficial cooperation should be further strengthened, instead of being hindered by Washington's "decoupling from China" push.

Analysts believe it's very likely that Washington will continue instigating "decoupling from China" during Fernández's US visit, however, there is no doubt that an economic "decoupling" between China and Argentina is absolutely unrealistic. 

Washington's efforts to form cliques and politicize economic issues to make critical minerals a new battleground for big powers could inflict damage upon Argentina's economy. For the good of Argentina's own interests, the South American country shouldn't fall into "decoupling from China" trap set by the US.

Amid rising anti-China sentiment, the US has stepped up its pace in forming cliques to disrupt global critical mineral supply chains for its selfish interests. China always advocates that cooperation in mineral resources should be open and accommodating, and the restructuring of the global critical mineral supply chains should be able to benefit all the countries in the industrial chain. Economic growth can only be achieved through cooperation rather than isolation. 

China and Argentina have a high complementarity in strengthening cooperation in the mining and minerals sectors, but what the Biden administration, stuck in a Cold War mentality to satisfy US' own selfish interests, can offer may be just lip service.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn