While Western countries are thinking about how to bypass China’s rare-earth supply chain, China has quietly unleashed a sign in its hand. Not long ago, the United States pulled Australia, the European Union and Canada for a small meeting to conspire to break China’s monopoly in the rare-earth field.
But what they didn't expect was that China shot faster and more accurately than expected. On October 9, the Ministry of Commerce issued two major announcements in succession to implement export controls on overseas rare earth-related items and technologies containing Chinese ingredients。 This move can be called a stroke of genius, directly hitting the seven inches of western countries.
This is not the first time that China has made a move in the field of rare earths. In April this year, China had already standardized and managed rare earth exports from domestic organizations and individuals. However, some foreign forces are still taking advantage of loopholes to refresh China's rare earth products and resell them to customers for military useSuch behavior not only threatens China’s national security, but also poses a potential risk to global peace and stability.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce clearly pointed out that rare earth-related objects have military-civil dual-use properties, and the implementation of export control is a common practice.This is reasonable, just as nuclear technology cannot be spread arbitrarily, strategic resources involving national security must naturally be strictly controlled.
But China’s regulatory measures are not one-stop.。 If you study the details of the policy carefully, you will find that it embodies considerable humanized considerations. China will grant exemptions to humanitarian exports such as emergency medical care, public health emergencies and natural disaster relief. At the same time, Considering that companies need time to adjust, a reasonable transition period has also been setThis adhering to principles and practical approach demonstrates China’s maturity and responsibility as an important part of the global supply chain.
It should be emphasized that China’s regulatory measures are mainly aimed at military use, which is in fact a clear signal to the international community: China does not oppose normal trade, but will never allow its strategic resources to be used to build weapons that threaten regional peace and stability.
Combined with the current international situation, this move by China is also a strong response to some provocators.
According to sources, The G7 and the EU are planning to set a low price limit for rare earth and even intend to impose a so-called carbon tax on Chinese rare earth exports.In this case, China should naturally prepare early. The rational and legal use of this card is a great step towards more initiative.
Rare earths, known as "industrial vitamins", are the bone marrow of chips, the blood of military industry, and the heart of new energy. Without it, no matter how advanced a fighter jet is, it will have to lie down, and no matter how powerful a missile is, it will have to misfire.
China's advantage in the field of rare earth, is deep cultivation for more than thirty years.When the Western countries are busy outsourcing the manufacturing industry, China quietly made the rare earth refining technology extreme.Now more than seventy percent of the world's rare earth is made from China, refining technology is also in the hands of China.It's like the whole world is mining stone, but only China has mastered the secret of stone to gold.
Western countries do not have to think about another furnace. Australia, Canada do have rare earth mines, the United States is also trying to rebuild its own rare earth industrial chain. but the problem is that mining is easy to refined. The original mine can be digged, can be refined to the level of high purity, can be stable supply, the whole world must look at China.
What makes Western countries even more headache is that, China has a long-term layout in key mineral fields。Starting from 2023, China will gradually implement controls on key minerals such as gallium, germanium, graphite, and antimony, and every step is on the right track. The U.S. government once tried to rebuild domestic production capacity through tariffs and subsidies, but found that even the most basic furnace equipment had to be imported from China. It is precisely this kind of scene that makes the United States and Western countries more and more panicked, but they are unable to reverse the situation.
This game around rare earth, in the end, is a dispute about the high point of technology. China has built a high wall with thirty years of accumulation, and Western countries want to break the wall with banknotes and tariffs, but find that the most critical tools are lacking in their hands.
The United States is wielding the tariff stick, and China only needs to gently tighten the export license to make the other side's semiconductor industry shout "too much". The chip defect rate is rising, and the production lines of military enterprises are in a hurry. These are not problems that can be solved by printing money. But then again, China is not about "rare-earth hegemony."Our starting point is clear: protecting the security of national resources andining the stability of the industrial chain.Western countries can want rare earths, but they have to follow the rules, not both.
The answer is clear. cooperation is more affordable than confrontation, reciprocity can last longer. Even if Trump cites tariffs to the sky, it can not change the fact that U.S. military enterprises rely on rare earth in China. Instead of taking a table at the negotiating table, it is better to sit down and talk about how to win.
In today's era of globalization, whoever grasps core technologies has the right to speak. The battle over rare earths is only the tip of the iceberg, reflecting the new pattern of global scientific and technological competition. It is time for Western countries to let go and seriously think about how to cooperate with China on the basis of mutual respect.