What Rare Earths Tell Us about China’s Competitive Strategy

By: Ian Easton | The National Interest |

The recent debate over whether or not China will carry through on its threats to stop exporting rare earth minerals to the United States is an important one. It raises deeply unsettling questions about the strength of America’s defense industrial supply chain. But Beijing’s monopolization of the global rare earths industry gives it far more than a card to play in an escalating trade war. The game is far bigger and the stakes higher than even many national-security experts seem to realize…

Read the full article in The National Interest.