ASPI Strategist this week released a new commentary arguing that China's creation of a coordinated iron ore purchasing body (CMRG) demonstrates that economic power increasingly resides with those who organise demand, not merely those who own resources.
The commentary states that Australia must broaden its economic security thinking beyond supply-chain control and resource extraction to encompass demand-chain power, downstream processing, financing, and market governance.
ASPI Strategist stated:
Supply-chain security has become a dominant concept in economic policy. Demand-chain power deserves similar attention. Large, coordinated buyers can influence investment decisions, alter commercial behaviour and shape market outcomes. They can affect where capital flows, which projects proceed and how value is distributed across an industry. China's approach to iron ore purchasing reflects an understanding that markets are strategic environments that can be organised to advance national interests.
Read the full commentary: In minerals purchasing, China is teaching Australia a lesson on economic power