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US-China trade war
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From Intel to lithium, Trump borrows Beijing’s industrial playbook in US-China race

Supply chain fears are driving Washington’s investments in chips and rare earths, but analysts cast doubt on the strategy

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A CPU chip, a tank and flags of China and the US placed over a periodic table. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Alice LiandKandy Wong
From funding Intel to eyeing a potential stake in Lithium Americas, the United States is increasingly wielding the government’s “visible hand” in its once-celebrated free market – a strategy long associated with China.
Analysts said Washington’s recent embrace of industrial policy – though limited to certain strategic sectors, such as semiconductors and critical minerals – reflects growing concern over the vulnerability of global supply chains amid rising US-China competition.
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“I believe the US government is trying to take a leaf out of China’s playbook,” said Brian Wong, a fellow at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) Centre on Contemporary China and the World.

Rajiv Biswas, CEO at Asia-Pacific Economics, agreed that Washington’s recent moves highlight a more “interventionist policy approach”.

“[It] reflects the realisation that commercial market forces may not deliver adequate domestic supply capacity for key inputs of certain key strategic industries such as defence technology or advanced electronics,” said Biswas, speaking from the Fastmarkets Critical Minerals and Metals Summit in Indonesia.

“Escalating geopolitical tensions have been a key factor driving US government concerns about supply chain disruptions for US imports of semiconductors and critical minerals,” he added.

Reports earlier this week suggested the Trump administration is considering an equity stake of up to 10 per cent in Lithium Americas, which is developing the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada – the world’s “largest known measured lithium resource and reserve”, according to the company’s website.

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Thacker Pass is expected to produce 160,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually over five phases of capacity expansion. The company said the project will “help enable a US domestic battery supply chain”, as the country currently produces less than 1 per cent of the world’s lithium.

The reported proposal follows a multibillion-dollar deal in July with US rare earth producer MP Materials, which included a US$400 million convertible stock purchase – making the Department of Defence the company’s largest shareholder.

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