The United States cannot exclude China from critical mineral supply chains, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday local time, even as Washington seeks to diversify its sources of materials ranging from electric car batteries to solar panels.

On the same day, Jose Fernandez, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth and Environmental Affairs, said at a briefing in New York: “We are very happy to cooperate with China in this regard, and we currently purchase a lot of minerals from many Chinese companies.”

Fernandez pointed out that China’s key position in the processing of mineral raw materials means that China will remain an important partner of the United States, especially because these minerals are important components of electric vehicle batteries.