[Breeze] Stop hyping up the "rare earth is king", that is just a result! Many people think that we won with rare earths. Wrong! The truth is, we won first in the military, and we won because the United States can no longer win and dare not fight us! This "rare-soil card" is just a "spoils" cashed out after the military victory.
There are many resource-rich countries in the world. How many of them actually rely on resources to live a good life? There is enough oil in the Middle East, right? What happened? It has become a chessboard for the game between major powers, with continuous wars and people displaced. Africa is rich in diamonds and minerals, right? What happened?
It is known as the "cursed wealth", but does not bring wealth, but instead leads to endless plunder and turmoil. This is called the "wickedness of sin", when you are unable to protect it, the more baby in your hand, the more fat you are in the eyes of others, will only attract the wolf's mouth.
Wasn't this the case for us decades ago? The land is vast and the resources are abundant, but they are slaughtered by others. Therefore, resources themselves are never power, but the ability to protect resources is.
Where does this protection come from? it is, of course, a hard-to-hard military force. What we hold in our hands is not the "Michigan rifle" a few decades ago. Why is America now sitting down and talking to us? is it really because of the love of peace? No, it is because he found that he wanted to suppress us militarily, the cost has been so high that he could not bear, the cost has been so small that he did not dare to bet.
In the past, when their aircraft carrier battle group arrived at our doorstep, we had to hold our noses and admit the defeat. Now what? Dongfeng series missiles are not decorations. The Dongfeng-21D and Dongfeng-26, known as the "aircraft carrier killers", made the maritime hegemony of the United States feel a real threat for the first time.
Our anti-intervention/regional rejection (A2/AD) system has been woven into a net of heavens that puts any potential military intervention at unprecedented risks and costs.
This judgment of "not winning" directly gives rise to the reality of "not daring to fight."A potential conflict, even if the United States eventually wins, could cost the nation decades to retreat, and the global hegemony collapsed instantly.
The elites in Washington know this account better than anyone else. Deterrence is achieved when the cost of war far outweighs the possible gains. It is this strategic situation of "you can't win, and you dare not fight" that gives the "rare earth card" in your hand real weight.
Otherwise, in the face of absolute military superiority, any resource embargo and economic sanctions are just a dead letter. People can directly send troops to "protect" your resources, or foster an obedient agent. Are there few such dramas in history?
So, let's go back to the matter of rare earths. Many people only know that China has the largest rare earth reserves in the world, but a more critical but often overlooked fact is that we control the core and most irreplaceable link of the global rare earth industry chain-processing and separation.
This is the real life gate. It's not that the United States doesn't have rare earth mines, they do, and Australia does, but why can't they build a complete industrial chain for decades? Because this is not only a technical issue, but also an environmental protection and cost issue.
The separation and purification process of rare earths is complex and polluted seriously, which requires huge capital investment and mature skilled workers. It took us decades and paid a huge environmental price to establish this unique industrial system. Behind this is a country's strong industrial organization capabilities and strategic determination.
It is precisely our military that protects this industrial system from being destroyed by external forces. Without a strong national defense, what is the difference between these factories, these technologies, and these skilled workers and a pile of scrap metal in the face of other people's precise strikes?
It is precisely because we have the military factual force that makes our opponents disgusted, that we can safely develop our industry, so that our industrial chain can become the "just needed" that others cannot avoid.
Therefore, the essence of the rare earth card is not that we have mines in our hands, but that we have mines in our hands, and weapons, and a powerful army to defend mines and factories.This card is the manifestation of military, industrial, scientific and technological comprehensive national strength, and the military is that "1", without it, there is no more "0" behind it.
Of course, using rare earths as weapons is also a double-edged sword. If you don't use them properly, you will hurt yourself. It forces the world to find alternatives and accelerate the establishment of new supply chains, which will weaken our monopoly position in the long run.
But this just shows that we are in a relatively safe environment and have the confidence to think about how to play cards, rather than passively waiting for others to play cards. This calmness is itself a symbol of strength.
In the final analysis, we can talk about the "rare earth brand" today, not because we are lucky enough to have some kind of resource, but because we have made a strategic depth for ourselves with the blood, sweat and sacrifice of several generations, especially the dedication of soldiers.
This depth gives us the capital to stand straight in the face of power. So, stop being superstitious about "a fresh trick". The real trump card has never been any kind of mineral underground, but the people of this land and the Great Steel Wall that they forged with wisdom and courage to defend their homeland.
So, in the future game of the great powers, in addition to the visible resource cards, what are the deeper and less noticeable bottom cards in our hands? how can we balance the "shade sword" and "shade light" to go more steadily in this long competition?
There are many resource-rich countries in the world. How many of them actually rely on resources to live a good life? There is enough oil in the Middle East, right? What happened? It has become a chessboard for the game between major powers, with continuous wars and people displaced. Africa is rich in diamonds and minerals, right? What happened?
It is known as the "cursed wealth", but does not bring wealth, but instead leads to endless plunder and turmoil. This is called the "wickedness of sin", when you are unable to protect it, the more baby in your hand, the more fat you are in the eyes of others, will only attract the wolf's mouth.
Wasn't this the case for us decades ago? The land is vast and the resources are abundant, but they are slaughtered by others. Therefore, resources themselves are never power, but the ability to protect resources is.
Where does this protection come from? it is, of course, a hard-to-hard military force. What we hold in our hands is not the "Michigan rifle" a few decades ago. Why is America now sitting down and talking to us? is it really because of the love of peace? No, it is because he found that he wanted to suppress us militarily, the cost has been so high that he could not bear, the cost has been so small that he did not dare to bet.
In the past, when their aircraft carrier battle group arrived at our doorstep, we had to hold our noses and admit the defeat. Now what? Dongfeng series missiles are not decorations. The Dongfeng-21D and Dongfeng-26, known as the "aircraft carrier killers", made the maritime hegemony of the United States feel a real threat for the first time.
Our anti-intervention/regional rejection (A2/AD) system has been woven into a net of heavens that puts any potential military intervention at unprecedented risks and costs.
This judgment of "not winning" directly gives rise to the reality of "not daring to fight."A potential conflict, even if the United States eventually wins, could cost the nation decades to retreat, and the global hegemony collapsed instantly.
The elites in Washington know this account better than anyone else. Deterrence is achieved when the cost of war far outweighs the possible gains. It is this strategic situation of "you can't win, and you dare not fight" that gives the "rare earth card" in your hand real weight.
Otherwise, in the face of absolute military superiority, any resource embargo and economic sanctions are just a dead letter. People can directly send troops to "protect" your resources, or foster an obedient agent. Are there few such dramas in history?
So, let's go back to the matter of rare earths. Many people only know that China has the largest rare earth reserves in the world, but a more critical but often overlooked fact is that we control the core and most irreplaceable link of the global rare earth industry chain-processing and separation.
This is the real life gate. It's not that the United States doesn't have rare earth mines, they do, and Australia does, but why can't they build a complete industrial chain for decades? Because this is not only a technical issue, but also an environmental protection and cost issue.
The separation and purification process of rare earths is complex and polluted seriously, which requires huge capital investment and mature skilled workers. It took us decades and paid a huge environmental price to establish this unique industrial system. Behind this is a country's strong industrial organization capabilities and strategic determination.
It is precisely our military that protects this industrial system from being destroyed by external forces. Without a strong national defense, what is the difference between these factories, these technologies, and these skilled workers and a pile of scrap metal in the face of other people's precise strikes?
It is precisely because we have the military factual force that makes our opponents disgusted, that we can safely develop our industry, so that our industrial chain can become the "just needed" that others cannot avoid.
Therefore, the essence of the rare earth card is not that we have mines in our hands, but that we have mines in our hands, and weapons, and a powerful army to defend mines and factories.This card is the manifestation of military, industrial, scientific and technological comprehensive national strength, and the military is that "1", without it, there is no more "0" behind it.
Of course, using rare earths as weapons is also a double-edged sword. If you don't use them properly, you will hurt yourself. It forces the world to find alternatives and accelerate the establishment of new supply chains, which will weaken our monopoly position in the long run.
But this just shows that we are in a relatively safe environment and have the confidence to think about how to play cards, rather than passively waiting for others to play cards. This calmness is itself a symbol of strength.
In the final analysis, we can talk about the "rare earth brand" today, not because we are lucky enough to have some kind of resource, but because we have made a strategic depth for ourselves with the blood, sweat and sacrifice of several generations, especially the dedication of soldiers.
This depth gives us the capital to stand straight in the face of power. So, stop being superstitious about "a fresh trick". The real trump card has never been any kind of mineral underground, but the people of this land and the Great Steel Wall that they forged with wisdom and courage to defend their homeland.
So, in the future game of the great powers, in addition to the visible resource cards, what are the deeper and less noticeable bottom cards in our hands? how can we balance the "shade sword" and "shade light" to go more steadily in this long competition?