Unabridged Q&A with Sputnik (many more details, with Sputnik’s new short format)

Ahead of Trump’s upcoming visit to China, the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources released data showing China’s dominance in global supply chains and the world’s largest reserves of key minerals, including rareearth metals and graphite.

 We would be happy if you could comment on this matter following the questions below:

1 China controls not only extraction and processing, but entire global supply chains. What strategic advantage does this give it?

Being a communist-socialist country that has 5-year plans going back to the Mao Era, now effectively 10-year rolling projections, China long ago did its homework and knew the value of rare earth elements (REEs), across all sectors of science, technology, the space race, industry, manufacturing and military applications. They allocated huge resources to perfect not only extraction, but processing and downstream, discovering new sources underground.

The West sat on its hubristic laurels and did almost none of this, using China as a reliable supplier. Starting with the Obama “Pivot to Asia” in 2011, it bit the Sino-hand to served it and the rest is history.

China effectively controls 90% of the world’s REE processing and thus supply chains and logistics. With its metaphorical pants around its ankles, the West is desperately trying to play catch-up.

2 For many years, China has dominated not so much in the extraction, but in the processing of rareearth metals and graphite (up to 90 % of global capacity). Why is processing – rather than raw reserves – is the real “bottleneck” in supply chains?   

China is naturally blessed with an abundance of REEs, but they are found all over the world. Prospecting is the first step, then extraction. But, processing these raw ores is a quantum step up in technology and the Chinese have been honing their processes for decades to get absolute purity of final product for the lowest cost. Right now, no other country in any significant capacity can compete, and it will take them years to replicate what the Chinese have spent decades perfecting.

3 Can rareearth elements and graphite be considered the “new oil” of the 21st century?

REEs make the world go round. Without them, countries can’t build weapons, send astronauts into space, manufacture mobile phones, all kinds of electronic gadgetry, high-tech magnets, medical equipment, and thousands of other mundane to high-tech applications. The Chinese were visionary, did their homework and are sitting in the catbird’s seat, compared to the West.

4 Does the US have any real leverage over China in this area, or is Beijing currently in a stronger position?

The US is signing contracts around the world to mine REE ore, but the West is still a long way from being a high-volume processor, like China. Just last week, Beijing announced another massive discovery of untapped REEs, so they are not going to run out anytime soon. Like the US, it can also go international to mine and buy more raw product to process back home and offer processing help to friendly, trustworthy countries like Russia, DPRK and Iran.

The US has no real leverage at all, except the tired old playbook of boycotts, blockades, sanctions and tariffs. China holds all the cards.

References

https://sputnikglobe.com/20260430/us-has-no-leverage-against-china-in-rare-earths-market—expert-1124068780.html

Jeff J. Brown’s ever-expanding collection of living libraries and catalogues. Many years and 1,000s of hours of writing+podcasting. Take advantage of them. Radio Sinoland 2026 Year of the Fire Horse!

https://radiosinoland.com/2026/01/04/a-canadian-friend-living-in-china-sent-me-a-handful-of-stats-talk-about-accountability-and-meritocracy-the-usurious-occupied-colonized-weimarized-warmongering-judeo-west-is-so-sino-screwed-with/

China calls and the world’s finance heavyweights come to listen – for obvious reasons: no communist-socialist China = global economic collapse. Radio Sinoland 251216

https://radiosinoland.com/2025/12/16/china-calls-and-the-worlds-finance-heavyweights-come-to-listen-for-obvious-reasons-no-communist-socialist-china-global-economic-collapse-radio-sinoland-251216/

CHINA IS COLLAPSING! How do I know? Because the Wall Street Journal says so and they’re the experts, right? China Rising Radio Sinoland 250109

https://radiosinoland.com/2025/01/09/china-is-collapsing-how-do-i-know-because-the-wall-street-journal-says-so-and-theyre-the-experts-right-china-rising-radio-sinoland-250109/

Westerners’ delusions about their economic superiority keep them from making changes for the better, and only make their futures worse. Walk down a Chinese street to see why. China Rising Radio Sinoland 240801

https://radiosinoland.com/2024/08/01/westerners-delusions-about-their-economic-superiority-keep-them-from-making-changes-for-the-better-and-only-make-their-futures-worse-walk-down-a-chinese-street-to-see-why-china-rising-radi/

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