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China’s dominance over the supply of rare-earth minerals and other materials—which are critical for energy transition and defense technologies—should spur U.S. policymakers to bolster raw materials supply chains, according to a new report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

The China Rare Earth Group, a merger of three of China’s state-owned enterprises into one mega-conglomerate, controls of up to a quarter of global mineral-bearing rare-earth elements (REE). Combined with China’s overall dominance in rare-earth minerals and materials—roughly 60% of world production—the merger grants Chinese central planners significant pricing power and influence over world supply, explain co-authors Michelle Michot Foss and Jacob Koelsch.

The authors argue that the U.S. and its allies must divorce strategic industries from Chinese REE.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2022-12-disconnect-strategic-chains-china-experts.html