A rare cause for war
I’m not sure how the rest of the world didn’t see this coming:
The United States and Europe have been remarkably insouciant about supplies of rare earth minerals so crucial to frontier technologies, from hybrid engines to mobile phones, superconductors, radar and smart bombs.
Lack of strategic planning by the West has allowed China to acquire a world monopoly on this family of seventeen metals. Assumptions that Beijing would never risk its reputation as a global team player by abruptly strangling supply have proved naive.
Well, they know now. Read more of Ambrose Evans-Pritchard’s article to understand how China has strategised to achieve this worrying outcome and what the potential ramifications might be.
How much longer is the world going to remain in a state of denial about China’s intentions to bend everyone else to their will? Under the present regime China is neither a fair trade, team, or morally observant player on the world stage. It really is time for people to wake up to the new reality.
If Evans-Pritchard’s assessment is accurate – and there’s no reason to suppose otherwise – the US are 15 years away from recovering the rare-earth supply chain they once had, the time for sober realisation is NOW.
Update
Anyone of the misguided opinion that China will give ground on this issue should take a closer look at today’s offering from The China Economic Review on Chinese negotiating style:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton steps up and unlocks the mystery of negotiating with the Chinese – they only compromise with enemies who scare them. Old hands know that the “middle” in Middle Kingdom refers to China’s place of honor just below Heaven but still far above the barbarian horde. That’s why traditional wisdom on negotiating with a Chinese counter-party by giving face and preserving harmony is a loser strategy – you end up bargaining for the best terms of your own submission.
Business leaders can learn a great deal from two approaches to Chinese negotiation that the US has tried out in the last 18 months. The Obama administration started with the same game-plan that many ambitious CEOs attempt when they are still China novices. They gave face, preserved harmony and built close personal relationships by offering concessions. Then they sat back, waiting for the Chinese side to reciprocate. It’s been a long, long wait. Just ask Tim Geithner – he traded his manhood away to Hu Jintao for a 0.7% appreciation in the RMB-USD exchange rate and more trash-talk about the state of the US economy.
I’m staggered at the naivety of successive world leaders in dealing with the Chinese government. I can forgive a few early stumbles, but how difficult is it to find smart individuals who understand Chinese strategic thinking?
China currently has planet by the bollocks on rare earth metals – and they’re not about to let go. Find an alternative, and find it fast. Or prepare to play serious hardball.
Update
China rare earth miners to set unified prices http://ow.ly/2nl40
Sounds like a cartel to me. It’s the beginning…
August 2nd, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Testing
August 19th, 2010 at 1:25 am
Well, not all may be lost. Go to
http://www.ggg.gl/Rare-Earth-Elements/Rare-Earth-Elements-at-Kvanefjeld.htm
Or search on ‘rare earth elements greenland’. There also seems to be some of this stuff here in the Oz, an undeveloped resource at this point I understand.
August 19th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Neddy, thanks for that link.
It certainly offers hope that China’s strategic monopoly can be broken, but they need to get moving on extraction and production right now: the entire process is time consuming and all the world’s refining and production capability is in the hands of the Chinese. That means building a whole supply chain process from scratch – a considerable undertaking – without resorting to Chinese investment capital to get the job done.
What are the odds China puts in a territorial claim for Greenland?
August 26th, 2010 at 6:19 am
people are stupid
September 24th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
[...] carrying cameras; stopping the export of crucial rare earth metals vital to Japan’s economy (predicted here); and countless threats issued through the state [...]
September 26th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Assuming the article to be a truthful account of what is going on (I certainly hope it is), so fucken what? Just cause whitey can’t get his way all the time now.
China is a far more responsible player on the global scene than the US, has not invaded any other countries this century, has no foreign military bases (the US has 700) and is not involved in illegal wars.
Furthermore, throughout the third world, where the vast majority of humanity lives, China is seen in a very positive light. Especially in Africa where poll after poll has confirmed the popularity of China .
Just because a few whiteys are upset that their five centuries of hegemony over the rest of the world is about to end – who the fuck really cares?
Except of cause the baak pi jue (white skinned pigs).
China answers to no one. Especially baak pi jue nations. But at the same time China is a just nation, and the Chinese people are a just people. We have supported the cause of oppressed people throughout the world. Especially during the era of Chairman Mao.
?????????, ?????????
Cheers,
Wayne
September 26th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Fucken racist site – surely a site about china would allow the posting of chinese (hence the ????? in the previous post)
September 28th, 2010 at 10:42 am
“We have supported the cause of oppressed people throughout the world”
Tell that to the people of Africa in a decade or so.
“China is a far more responsible player on the global scene than the US, has not invaded any other countries this century, has no foreign military bases (the US has 700) and is not involved in illegal wars.”
You’re not looking closely enough at either China’s past or her strategic present.
“Fucken racist site – surely a site about china would allow the posting of chinese”
I refer you to the nasty comments – evidenced in the comments above – that you have a penchant for, MW. You wouldn’t be the first to hurl invective in Chinese because you think it will fly under the radar. That’s not going to happen here.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
“Tell that to the people of Africa in a decade or so. “
China is overwhelmingly popular in Africa as poll after poll has shown. Unlike white who just stole African land and resources (Kenya, Zimbabwe), and drove the Africans off their own land, the Chinese pay fair prices and help develop the infrastructure of Africa, without giving the Africans patronising drivel on how to run their own affairs.
The best study of the true Chinese role in Africa, backed up witha plethora of facts and figures is The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa, by Deborah Brautigam. http://tinyurl.com/y87lm7n
The Africans themselves highly praise China’s role in Africa.
The Rwandan President:
“The Chinese bring what Africa needs: investment and money for governments and companies…..China is investing in infrastructure and building roads……European and American involvement “has not brought Africa forward…….Western firms have to a large extent polluted Africa and they are still doing it”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8301826.stm
The South African President
“China is there discussing with the brothers and sisters in Africa to create a mutually beneficial kind of relationship”, which is “different from former Western colonialists (simply) taking things by force.”
http://tinyurl.com/2eekb7t
Botswana President:
“I find that the Chinese treat us as equals. The West treats us as former subjects. Which is a reality. I prefer the attitude of the Chinese to that of the West. ”
Ugandan President:
“The Western ruling groups are conceited, full of themselves, ignorant of our conditions, and they make other people’s business their business. Whereas the Chinese just deal with you, you represent your country, they represent their own interests, and you do business.”
October 10th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Yet another hamfisted threat by China to cut the world’s rare earth supplies. Just like Saudi Arabia and their oil. See how much respect they get.
October 18th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
[...] the recent Senkaku imbrolio that belatedly brought rare earths to the world’s attention: I don’t know about you, but I find this story deeply disturbing, [...]
January 3rd, 2011 at 10:05 pm
[...] inclined to give John Lee some credit for spelling out exactly what Beijing has in mind for its near monopoly of rare-earth metals. First, the author neatly recaps the importance of this group of metals, and how China has come to [...]