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How China wields rare earths as a strategic weapon
- In October 2024, armed forces affiliated with the Kachin Independence movement took over the towns of Chipwi and Pangwa in northern Myanmar, which are critical sites for producing a significant portion of the world’s heavy rare earth elements.
- This takeover followed Myanmar's 2021 military coup, which weakened the junta's authority and triggered a rapid expansion of rare earth extraction reshaping the conflict economy.
- Myanmar supplied about 57% of China's rare earth imports last year, mainly heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium, critical for EVs, defense, and advanced industries.
- By April 2024, KIA and Chinese representatives had settled on a set export price of 35,000 CNY for each metric ton, accompanied by a 20% export duty levied by the KIA.
- KIA's control signals its emergence as a de facto governor of rare earth resources, heightening geopolitical tensions and prompting the EU and G7 to pursue supply diversification and strategic reserves.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Beijing has effectively stopped the export of irreplaceable minerals for e-cars, wind turbines and other high-tech products. Even if signals of relaxation come from China: "The supply situation can deteriorate at any time," says a specialist metal dealer.
China still squeezing rare-earth exports despite U.S. pact
MxM News Quick Hit: Weeks after agreeing to ease restrictions, China continues to stall rare-earth magnet exports, causing Western manufacturers to scramble for critical components and raising fears that Beijing is weaponizing its supply chain leverage. Key Details: Applications for rare-earth magnet exports are being delayed or denied despite a U.S.-China agreement to resume trade. Western firms report that supply remains critically low, with …
After Trade Truce, Can China Write the Tech Rule Book?
The latest Sino-American “handshake”—a 90-day pause on tariffs, semiconductor export bans, and rare-earth chokeholds agreed in Geneva and revived in London this month—was never meant as a love-in. It is a grudging ceasefire, a chance for each superpower to breathe, re-stock, and, above all, rewrite the operating manual of twenty-first-century techno-commerce. The United States plainly hopes the pause will buy time for fresh sanctions should Beij…
The Daily Caller
Conservative Daily NewsLooks Like China Is Dragging Feet On Its End Of Trump Trade Truce
China is stalling the exports of rare earth magnets, despite promising earlier this month to ease restrictions under a trade deal with the Trump administration.
China’s Rare-Earth Export Drag Raises Alarm In U.S., Threatens Global Supply Chains - Worthy Christian News
by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff (Worthy News) – Despite a recent pledge to ease restrictions, China is delaying export approvals for rare-earth magnets—critical components used in electric vehicles, defense systems, and electronics—causing major disruptions for Western manufacturers, The Wall Street Journal reports. Companies say shipments have slowed to a trickle, with license applications taking weeks or being denied. Ford has alre…
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