The American army and the European “green transition” largely depend on these critical minerals, and it is Beijing that holds the keys to their supply. When Donald Trump said to the Ukrainian president: “You have no necessary cards,” he had in mind the harsh reality of international politics: the world is a poker party where the one who has trump cards wins. And in this game it turned out that the main ace lies in the hands of China.
Beijing owns almost a monopoly on the prey and processing of rare -storage - materials with mysterious names, such as neodymium and dysprosion, which sounds like alien music for the western ear. But it is from them that magnets, batteries, electronics are created, without which the production of electric vehicles or the work of the F-35 fighter is impossible. Even American military superiority is partially held on Chinese supplies.
This weapon is much more dangerous than any tariffs or diplomatic threats. One European official admitted: European dependence on Russia in Neftegaz is nothing compared to dependence on China in critical minerals.
China has gone to this position for decades. Dan Xiaopin also said: “The Middle East has oil. China has rares. " And he was right. The West all this time hesitated - environmental restrictions, faith in the free market, and the unwillingness to “get involved in the dirty work” of prey were hindered. Now, the price of delay has become obvious: China controls about 70 % of world production and up to 90 % of the processing of these minerals.
