On September 21, a delegation from the U.S. House Military Committee visited China, and after a closed-door meeting, a member of the delegation, Smith, was very suspicious.
Why does China export so much rare earth, but the United States doesn't get a bite? This "I can't figure it out" is not a complaint, but an anxiety.
What is hidden behind it is actually the reality that the United States can't get around on the rare earth issue for a long time-relying on China and unwilling to bow its head.
Rare earth is not a rare thing, but it is the most difficult "key raw material" to replace in modern industry. From missiles and radars to new energy vehicles and smart phones, it is indispensable everywhere.
And China has the absolute dominance of global rare-earth refining, which is not due to luck, but the result of decades of technology accumulation and industrial chain integration.
Behind this “unthinkable” account, in fact, is an early even clear account.
China's rare earth brand has long been no temporary measure
Smith’s idea sounds like sudden confusion, but it’s been a matter of years since the Trump administration resumed the trade war, and the U.S. has created barriers to each other in high-tech, energy, and finance.
At that time, China had exposed the rare earth card, not a threat, but a response.Export control documents are written clearly: according to law, reasonable, targeting specific products and countries.
At that time, the United States relied more than 70% on China's rare earths, especially high-performance magnets, which were almost entirely imported. Once China tightens supply, U.S. defense, aviation, chip manufacturing and other industries will immediately become "tight."
Many companies are beginning to look for alternatives, but neither Australian mines nor American production capacity can quench their thirst.
U.S. blockade, while also want to take things from China, this operation is unthinkable. some U.S. officials at the time put export wind, saying they are willing to "do a little exchange" on the issue of the chip, and even spread the idea of "chip exchange rare earth".
But the problem is that the United States says a set of a set, the mouth of cooperation, the hand is still adding sanctions, the sincerity has not come, and the effect is not natural.
Since then, China's attitude toward rare-earth exports has changed.It is not all-out, nor all-out, but "precision drip".Who really needs, who is really cooperating, who can get the goods.
The export volume is not small, why can't the United States get it?
By 2025, China and the United States had talked about trade issues on several occasions, from Geneva to London, many venues mentioned rare earth.
The United States wanted China to "be lenient", but China didn't refuse, but emphasized "examination and approval according to law and reciprocal treatment". This made the outside world once think, is China going to let go?
But the customs data of August came out, the answer was in front of the eye. China's rare-earth magnet exports did not rebound, the global total was still growing, indicating that China did not "carry the neck" of all countries. But the import data in the United States is downward, the drop is not small, the amount is also less and less. In other words, the goods are there, is not for you.
China’s position has not changed: whoever first imposes restrictions on China should not expect China to “open one eye and close one eye” on key raw materials.
The United States is still increasing its sanctions on China's high-tech products, and there are also many restrictions on chips, lithography machines, AI computing power, and software services. In this case, China will certainly not hand over its trump cards.
Smith's delegation's "can't figure it out" actually just didn't understand this truth. Export does not equal unconditional supply.
The rules of the market are not one-sided "I need you to give", nor "I sanction you, you have to cooperate".
Rare earths are controlled tightly, not for revenge, but for the long term
The current rare earth policy is no longer an emergency measure, but a strategic arrangement at the national level. Who releases it and who accepts it depends not on whether the relationship is good or not, but on whether the cooperation is equal. China has long said that it is willing to meet the legitimate needs of the world, but it will not accept any country's use of rare earths exported by China, which in turn will suppress China's development.
Rare land is an industrial foundation, but also a part of national security.China's control of rare land is not only to make money for exports, but also to ensure its own initiative in the global industrial chain.
China's long-standing experience tells us that as a raw material supplier, relying on low-cost exports, there is no real sense of security.Now China has not only mastered resources, but also mastered the core technology of processing, purification and product manufacturing, which is the source of the bottom.
And for the United States, the problem is not unresolved. the native country is not without rare earth resources, but only the difficulty of development, high cost, environmental pressure is great. and, in the past, the United States put all its energy on "control technology", not thinking about the raw materials this piece should be done by themselves.
China sees very clearly: the future game is not only the positive encounter of high-end technology, but also includes the resource and industrial chain layout competition.
Smith’s delegation wanted to take a “rare-earth passport” but eventually found that the key wasn’t in their hands.
The United States has always emphasized "national security" on many issues, but China has its own security considerations. You can control the chip, we can also control the rare earth; if you want to break the chain, we have to prepare. This is not a confrontation, but a rule.
The real problem is whether we can mutual respect and equal exchanges.If you are willing to put down sanctions, we are naturally willing to open the market.
But if you are still swinging your fists while asking for goods, then this cooperation will never bear fruit.
conclusion
Smith's delegation "can't understand", in fact, it is not difficult to understand. China's export of rare earth is not a problem, the problem is not to give to the United States, it depends on how the United States itself does.
In international communication, the most basic rule is: what you do to others, others will do to you. No one is born to give way to you, and no one has to supply unconditionally.
Rare-earth is just a reminder, a signal: it is not stress or complaints that really unlock the problem, but honesty and action.
China keeps the key for itself; I'm willing to open the door, but it depends on whether you knock on it with reciprocity.
Source: U.S. Congressman’s “rare visit” to China sends three signals —2025-09-23 09:15·Global Times