China urged to sharpen rare earths edge in race with the US

Name: Amid US-China trade war, China aims to elevate its domestic rare earth industry
Uploaded: 2022-01-01T22:00:27.000Z
Duration: 1 min 44 s
Description: Amid US-China trade war, China aims to elevate its domestic rare earth industry

Team of experts says a multi-agency mechanism modelled on the US system will help ensure supply security

Critical minerals, including rare earths, are crucial to clean energy technologies and a new frontier in the China-US rivalry

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Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Jiangsu province. Photo: Reuters

Laura Zhou

Published: 6:00am, 2 Jan 2022Updated: 11:45am, 2 Jan 2022

China has been urged to create a multi-agency mechanism to secure supplies of critical minerals as a geopolitical leverage against the United States and its allies amid a global drive towards green energy.

Experts studying the White House’s strategy on rare earths say the proposed body could be similar to the system in the US where the commerce, energy, foreign policy and federal authorities are all involved in devising and implementing critical minerals strategies.

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Amid US-China trade war, China aims to elevate its domestic rare earth industry

The proposal is part of an analysis by a three-member team led by Yu Hongyuan, professor and director of the Institute for Comparative Politics and Public Policy at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

The others are Guan Longcheng, a postgraduate student with the institute and Ma Zhe, an associate researcher with Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.

As the world races to hit net zero emissions by 2050, it will require six times more mineral inputs in 2040 than it does today, according to the International Energy Agency. And this is intensifying the race among global powers, China and the US in particular, to gain access to these valuable minerals.

China dominates the global supply of critical minerals, including rare earths that are essential for key clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and wind turbines.