Analysis For years, China has undercut other countries in the production and refining of defense-critical rare earth metals, dominating the global market. At present China controls 85 percent of the global supply. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses threats to cut off the supplies of rare earth minerals as a bargaining chip. It did this when the United States sold weapons to Taiwan, and once again when Japan captured a Chinese fishing boat captain, demanding the captain be returned before he was interrogated. China actually did cut off Japan’s supply in 2010, amid a dispute related to the Senkaku Islands. As the United States attempts to build domestic supply chains of rare earth minerals, it has partnered with a Chinese company called Shenghe Resources, whose largest shareholder is a government entity. Even more concerning is that the U.S. Department of Defense is funding this partnership. This leaves China, once again, in control of …
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