The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a new financing facility aimed at strengthening critical mineral supply chains across the Asia-Pacific region, as a global push to loosen China’s chokehold over the sector continues.

The initiative is designed to help Asia-Pacific nations move up the critical minerals value chain – moving beyond just mining – by equipping them with the technical capabilities to process and recycle the materials, according to the ADB.

“Asia and the Pacific should be more than a source of raw materials,” said Masato Kanda, the bank’s president, in a press release on Sunday. “The region should also capture the jobs, technology and value these minerals provide.”

Several countries have committed to the scheme. Japan has pledged US$20 million to fund related projects, while the United Kingdom has committed US$1.6 million.

The latest ADB initiative came amid global efforts to develop alternative sources of critical minerals, as China increasingly leverages its dominance over the sector for strategic purposes.

China has the world’s largest reserves of over a dozen essential minerals, including rare earths vital to producing advanced weaponry and other hi-tech devices. But its true advantage lies in its near-monopoly over the processing of those materials.