China explores seabed mineral deals across the Pacific

Beijing eyes partnerships with Cook Islands, Kiribati. Washington is concerned.

China holds five seabed mining exploration permits at the ISA – more than any other country. This is already a worry for China hawks in Congress and the corporate world.

Now, Beijing is looking for more.

Last month, it struck a deal to explore for nodules in the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone (the deal does not constitute an official exploration license). And just this week, Kiribati announced its intent to partner with China too, likely as part of the island nation’s exploration contract with the ISA.

(While the China-Kiribati deal would be for the international seabed, Kiribati notably has one of the world’s largest exclusive economic zones – despite having a land area a quarter the size of Rhode Island.)

Predictably, these moves have further raised alarm in Washington. A group of mineral policy experts dubbed this a Sputnik Moment, urging the U.S. to get more involved in deep-sea mining.

Congressman John Joyce (R-PA) said investing in the industry could help “break the iron grip that the CCP has” on global mineral supplies. (Last year, Joyce introduced a House bill to support deep-sea mining.)

This all represents a palpable shift in messaging by the industry and its proponents. While deep-sea mining was once largely about powering the energy transition, it’s now about national security – specifically, countering China’s control of mineral extraction and processing.

It remains to be seen whether this new message will spur major action by the U.S. But as the Spotlight has reported, the Trump administration certainly seems receptive.

Author’s note: I’m heading to Kingston, Jamaica, next week to cover the ISA Council meeting. Get in touch if you have any burning questions you want answered about the negotiations.