China’s rare-earth weapon is a grenade, not a clusterbomb

They pop up once in a while: reports about China considering export restrictions of rare-earth minerals or related materials and technology. The latest comes from Nikkei, suggesting that Beijing could curb exports of certain rare earths used for high-performance magnets as well as equipment to process and refine the coveted elements.

It’s the kind of move you might expect from a country that since the 1990s has dominated the rare-earth industry and that’s now being deprived of advanced semiconductor manufacturing through the concerted action of the US, Japan and the Netherlands. “The Middle East has oil; China has rare earths,” former leader Deng Xiaoping famously said. Current president Xi Jinping has paid a visit to a rare-earth mine more than once, each time fueling speculation about the weaponization of the strategic materials.