As geopolitical tensions electrify the global scramble for critical minerals—the raw materials that underpin advanced defense systems and clean energy technologies—the United States and China have been racing to expand their influence over the mineral market in Africa.

As geopolitical tensions electrify the global scramble for critical minerals—the raw materials that underpin advanced defense systems and clean energy technologies—the United States and China have been racing to expand their influence over the mineral market in Africa.

The world’s F-35 fighter jets, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and wind turbines all rely on critical minerals, including rare earths, cobalt, and lithium—many of which are found in Africa. But the problem for U.S. policymakers is that China overwhelmingly dominates the global refining and processing of these materials. Beijing has also spent more than a decade deepening ties and inking infrastructure deals with African partners, giving it a major leg up in the global rush for the resources.

Worried about strategic vulnerabilities, Washington is now ramping up efforts to carve out a stake in the critical minerals sector. In one of the most ambitious U.S. infrastructure bids in Africa yet, the Biden administration has pledged to lend hundreds of millions of dollars toward reviving the Lobito Corridor, a 1,200 mile-long railway that would transport critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the Angolan coast. The DRC is home to the world’s biggest cobalt reserves, while Zambia is rich in copper.

“The Lobito Corridor is really a play out of Beijing’s own playbook,” said Cameron Hudson, an analyst at the Center for........

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