I thought rare earths were the trump card, but I didn't expect that the trump card that is more beneficial than rare earths was actively preparing. In the past, the United States has always believed that China has the trump card of rare earths, but the United States also has the trump card of semiconductors and lithography machines, so the United States is not afraid of China.
Unexpectedly, when China played the trump card of rare earths, Russian experts even said that China still has another trump card, that is, man-made diamonds. If rare earths are stuck in the neck of American high-tech, then synthetic diamonds are stuck in the neck of American chips. Will the field that the United States is best at be stuck by China? Is it the turn of the United States to be stuck by chips next? Even Vance stood up and expressed the hope that China would be rational. Is the United States afraid?
Don't just think of it as jewelry! How Strategic Value Are Synthetic Diamonds
Now, if you still think that artificial diamonds are just a replacement for the wedding ring, then you really don’t see through the doorway of this thing.
It is no longer a decoration in a jewelry store, but an "industrial tooth" that can pierce the lifeblood of modern industry-especially in the semiconductor and military fields, you can't find anything that can completely replace it. More importantly, the global supply of this stuff is almost in the hands of China.
The data is clearer: China accounts for 95% of the production of diamonds used in the global industry, and a province in Hanoi contracts 80% of the country's production capacity for cultivation of diamonds and 90% of industrial diamonds.
The industrial clusters in Zhengzhou are even more powerful, with industrial chain coverage exceeding 70%. From raw materials to processing equipment to how to use it downstream, the entire link has been opened up, forming a closed loop. This is not just as simple as increasing production. It is that China has developed all-round advantages from technology to production capacity.
Speaking of production technology, whether it is the high-pressure thermal method (HPHT) or the chemical gas-phase sedimentation method (CVD), Chinese enterprises are very familiar. The Semiconductor Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has also developed the "elastic resistance engineering" technology, which can change the electronic properties of diamonds through microprocessing, and even hope to turn it into a superconductor - this is the key technology for the next generation of semiconductors.
By comparing rare earths, you can see how powerful this card is. In the past, when the United States faced the situation that rare earths might be stuck, it could still think about reopening local mines; But man-made diamonds are different. They are not natural minerals and have to be piled up by technology and a complete industrial chain.
The only rare-earth mine in the United States, Mantenpas, even if the mine is mined, must be shipped to China for processing, processing and selling back, and the price rises directly from $300 per ton to $2500.
The industrial chain of artificial diamonds is more complicated. Does the United States want to build one from scratch? I can't get up for ten or eight years. This is where it is more deadly than rare earths-finding alternatives is too expensive, and you simply can't afford to wait in time.
Just stuck to the chip's key point! How did China hold the new "seven inches" of the United States?
The United States always felt that it had two trump cards, semiconductors and lithography machines, to compete with China's rare earths, but they did not expect that artificial diamonds had just hit the "throat" of the chip industry. If rare earths are stuck in the "waist" of high-tech, then artificial diamonds directly pinch the "neck" of the chip, and they pinch it very accurately.
First from the most basic processing link, when the chip is made, the silicon sheet must be cut, but also precision grinding, these links can not be separated from diamond knives. This thing is the hardest, wear resistance is dozens of times than ordinary knives, without it, the precision parts on the chip production line can not be processed at all.
China monopolizes 95% of industrial diamond production capacity, which means that the "scalpel" used by American chip factories must be supplied by China.
There has been news in the past that some chip factories in the United States due to the tension in the supply of diamond knives, the production line has slowed down - this is only the impact of the conventional application level, and the worst is still behind.
Today's silicon-based chips are almost reaching the performance ceiling. Whether it is 5G base stations, artificial intelligence servers, or missile guidance systems, they all need semiconductor materials that are more resistant to high temperatures and interference, and diamond is just the most suitable.
Its thermal conductivity is 20 times that of silicon, and the impact voltage is 50 times that of silicon, using it as a chip substrate, can reduce the temperature of the hot spot of the GPU by 20 degrees Celsius and reduce the energy consumption directly by 40% - this is a disruptive boost for data centers and military equipment.
There is a company called Akash in the United States that has received US$18.2 million from the CHIPS Act through diamond cooling technology. However, they still have to find suppliers for the artificial diamond raw materials they use-and the world's largest suppliers are in China.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences has implemented the "deep elastic tension engineering" of diamond in the laboratory, which allows the diamond's gap to change through microprocessing, and it is even possible to realize "metallization", which opens new doors to quantum chips and superconducting devices.But the U.S. technology in this area is still in the laboratory exploration phase, and the industrial chain is a vacuum.
This means that whoever grasps artificial diamond technology in the future will have the lead in the next generation of chips. The chip industry, which the United States is most proud of, is really going to be stuck by China this time.
Vance is eager to "calm down" China: The United States is not just afraid of materials being stuck in its neck
As soon as China announced the export control of superhard materials, US Vice President Vance quickly stood up and spoke out, hoping that China would "remain rational" and even offered to negotiate. Compared with the previous tough attitude of the United States to impose sanctions at every turn, this is simply a 180-degree turn.
Even Trump followed by saying he was willing to cooperate, turning his head and mouth to say he had "more codes" - such inconsistent statements, in fact, put the United States in panic, they are really afraid.
What the United States is afraid of is not just artificial diamonds, but the "monopoly echelon" formed by China in the field of key materials. Rare earths have already caused a headache for the United States before, but now man-made diamonds have filled another gap and are directly targeting the core advantageous industries of the United States.
The U.S. Energy Secretary has long acknowledged that the United States is "heavily dependent on other countries" for the supply and processing of critical materials. They spent $1 billion to engage in independent production, but compared with China's mature industrial chain, it is not worth mentioning at all.
Like the rare earth, the United States would even want to build factories, from technology research and development to production capacity to climb up, at least five years – but in these five years, China is completely able to pull the gap through technological iteration.
Functional diamonds are the key material for the manufacture of infrared guidance systems, high-power microwave weapons and laser weapons, without this, the F-35 fighter aircraft radar system will be affected, and the missile rate will fall – these are the core equipment of the U.S. military to maintain military hegemony.
The United States and Japan have long included high-end diamonds in export controls, but they cannot make them themselves. Now that China reacts, it is equivalent to directly cutting off the US military's "material supply line."
Wans shouted "cold" behind, in fact, the United States has fallen into strategic passivity. In the past they always thought of using rules to knock someone else's neck, now China has started to actively formulate "quantity rules", through export controls to lock the negotiation code.
Bloomberg clearly understood that China is not doing this to cut off exports, but to let the United States know that "pressure on China has costs."
The United States now finally realizes that modern science and technology competition is not only a match of code and optical engraving machines, but also hidden in the micro-structure of materials.
Whether it is rare earth or artificial diamonds, these gold cards in China's hands are not blank for no reason, it is a little accumulated in the industrial chain for decades.The United States before always felt that their hand holds the semiconductor gold card is high, now understand that there are no key materials to make the foundation, and the advanced chip design is just the air.
Wans said that making China "reasonable", in fact, rather than putting a "signal of forgiveness" - after all, when their best fields are to be caught in the neck by others, the hard bottom will become soft.
Source of information:
Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China
Russian Sputnik News Agency-Russian expert: China will restrict the export of artificial diamonds to control chip supply to the United States