China's comprehensive control of rare-earth exports has made the Trump administration scandalous, and the most recent speech is not more than U.S. Finance Minister Bessent, who is unwavering about the catastrophic degradation.

According to the British "Financial Times" report, Besent attended a press conference with U.S. Trade Representative Greer on the 15th and spoke on China's rare earth export policy.

He said that if China wants to be an unreliable partner in the world, then the world will have to disconnect.China¡¯s approach is to ¡°confront the world¡± and force the United States and other countries to ¡°disconnect¡± with China.

Bescent said: "China comprehensively controls rare earth exports and wants to drag" everyone into the water ".

How do you evaluate such a statement by Besson?

First, why was Besson so excited?

There is only one core reason: the U.S. reliance on rare earth in China.

He shouted "decoupling", but he knew better than anyone the weight of these two words, and he would not read it from the data.

According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey in 2024, 70% of the U.S. imports of rare earth raw materials that year came from China, while the proportion of heavy rare earths, which are indispensable in the military field, was almost 100%.

Among the US military, 87% of the 153 types of main battle equipment currently in service and under development by the US military are inseparable from rare earth processing. Taking the F-35 stealth fighter as an example, each fighter plane consumes about 417 kilograms of rare earth materials in its electronic warfare system, target radar and rudder motor. Without these materials, no matter how advanced the fighter plane is, it will be just scrap iron parked on the ground.

Not to mention missile guidance systems, nuclear submarine sonar, precision-guided bombs and other equipment, almost every cutting-edge weapon has to be "empowered" by rare earths.

The author has reviewed the U.S. Department of Defense's 2024 "Critical Minerals Supply Chain Report", which clearly lists four medium and heavy rare earths such as gadolinium, terbium, yttrium, and dysprosium as strategic resources that "cannot be replaced in the short term", and these four are precisely The key items under China's control this time.

So from this point of view, Besent's anger is that the U.S. defense production plan is facing the risk of being cut off.

Then some people may ask, as a resource-rich country, can't the United States engage in its own rare earth industry? The answer is: tried and failed.

The Muntington Pasch mine in California was once called the "Rare Earth Hope Star" and its rare earth reserves are indeed remarkable, but the problem lies in the back of the industrial chain, purifying it. The rare earth mining requires a complex separation purification process to get high purity materials available, and this step is precisely China's absolute advantage.

Ironically, the United States has previously blocked its path of purification in order to "restrain China" to impose tariffs.Mantingpas minerals can not transport the ore to China processing, direct losses of $ 65 million, back more than 900 million debt, half the production line stopped, now basically in the semi-industrial state.

The author also saw news reports that U.S. Treasury Secretary Basent hinted that "tariffs are for rare earths" and that the United States may extend the suspension period of imposing tariffs on China goods in exchange for China postponing the implementation of rare earth export control plans.

Obviously, the U.S. government has proposed the goal of "localization of the rare earth supply chain" since 2010. Over the past ten years, it has not only failed to achieve self-sufficiency, but has intensified its dependence due to the hollowing out of the industry.

The second is to divide?

In addition to strategic dependence, Besent accused China of "confronting the world." It is obvious that this is to sow discord between other countries and China and package the United States '"single dilemma" as a "global crisis."

However, this is in line with the consistent style of the United States. Most developing countries are neither major consumers of rare earths nor understand that China's controls are not aimed at ordinary trade.

Ironically, while shouting "China is unreliable", Bescent is stepping up efforts to grab rare earth resources on a global scale.

Just days before he accused China, Trump just revealed on Fox News Network that the United States had given Ukraine the ¡°basic consent¡± to $50 billion in rare earth aid in exchange for US aid.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Besent's accusation is more like a "thief crying to stop thief".

At a press conference on October 15, Bessent made a clear appeal to U.S. allies to ¡°reduce dependence on China as soon as possible and supply chain diversification.¡±

Almost at the same time, Bloomberg quoted Western officials as saying that the G7 finance ministers were considering joint response to ¡°react to China¡¯s rare-earth controls.¡±

Besent even said the U.S. would work with global ¡°democracies¡± because China ¡°blasted¡± its supply chains in these regions.

This kind of "grouping" is more like a superficial article.

Because "supply chain diversification" is easier said than done. The rare earth industry is not a simple "prospecting-mining", but a complete chain covering exploration, mining, separation, purification and deep processing.

China not only controls 70% of global rare earth production, but also accounts for 85% of rare earth smelting and purification capacity. Although Australia and Canada have rare earth mines, they lack purification capabilities; Myanmar's rare earth mines account for 57% of China's imports, but the March 2025 earthquake has seriously affected its production capacity and exacerbated global supply risks.

Even if the United States unites its allies to build a new purification plant, it will take at least 5-8 years from factory construction, equipment installation to technical commissioning, and the initial investment is as high as tens of billions of dollars. At a time when military needs are urgent, this kind of "far water" can't quench the "near thirst" at all.

So having said so much, I probably understand why the United States is so anxious, even implying "tariffs for rare earths".

The Chinese response

Data from the General Administration of Customs of China is enough to illustrate the problem: my country exported 4,000.3 tons of rare earths in September 2025, a decrease of 30.9% from August. This is the third consecutive month of decline and a new low since February this year.

According to the announcement, China not only controls five medium and heavy rare earths, but also includes foreign-made magnets containing 0.1% of China's rare earth components. More importantly, this control is aimed at "dual-use items for military and civilian purposes." Some overseas organizations use China's rare earths after processing and using them in military-sensitive fields, which has had an adverse impact on international peace and stability. This is the direct inducement of control.

China's response appeared calm and firm. On October 16, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian made it clear at a regular press conference: "The export control measures introduced by China are in line with international common practices and aim to better safeguard world peace and regional stability."

Rare earths have distinct dual-use attributes, and export control on them is a common choice for countries around the world to safeguard national security. The United States itself is a practitioner of this rule. The U.S. Export Administration Regulations impose strict restrictions on the export of rare earth-related technologies and products, and even there is no lack of technical blockade on allies.

The sentence "the purpose is to better maintain world peace and regional stability" exposes the "lie" of the United States.

The main reason is that ¡°some overseas organizations and individuals transfer rare-earth control objects originating in China directly or after processing, and provide them to relevant organizations and individuals, and directly or indirectly use them in sensitive areas such as military.¡±

What do these "sensitive areas" specifically refer to? Although China did not say it clearly, it is not difficult to judge based on the international situation: against the background of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the tense situation in the Middle East, some countries have used China's rare earths to expand armaments and intensify regional conflicts, which obviously violates China's diplomatic stance of "promoting peace and promoting talks."

As the world¡¯s largest arms exporter, the U.S. is the biggest beneficiary of rare-earth military use ¨C its massive supply of weapons to Ukraine, behind which lies the shadow of China¡¯s rare-earth.

From this perspective, China¡¯s regulation is essentially an important measure of ¡°anti-proliferation¡± by regulating rare earth flows and preventing it from being used for weapons production that intensify conflict, which is precisely a ¡°brake¡± for world peace.

Bescent accused China of "confronting the world", but it is the United States itself that is really turning rare earths into "war fuel".

conclusion

For a long time, the U.S. has been accustomed to ¡°seek and demand¡± in the global resource system: either to control resource land through economic means or to monopolize the high end of the industrial chain through technological advantage.

Through export controls in accordance with international law, China has sent a signal to the world that resource suppliers have the right to safeguard their own security and have the right to regulate the flow of resources, which is not "confrontation", but the improvement of the international order.

The United States relies on China¡¯s rare earth to maintain the defense industry, accuses China of being ¡°unreliable¡±, accuses China of using aid in exchange for Ukraine¡¯s rare earth resources, criticizes China¡¯s ¡°destroying supply chain¡±, imposes its own strict export controls, and accuses China of ¡°violating international rules¡±.

The answer is self-evident as to who is "working against the world".

Source: Observer Network