Latest / China Economy with Fexingo: Beijing's Policies, Trade, and Asia-Pacific Markets
Why Chinas Rare Earth Dominance Is Facing a New Threat
Lucas and Luna examine a surprising development in China's rare earth supply chain: the country's growing reliance on imports of processed rare earth materials from Southeast Asia and Africa. With new refining capacity coming online in Vietnam and Myanmar, China's stranglehold on global rare earth processing is weakening. The episode drills into the numbers: China still controls 90% of refining but imports of rare earth concentrates surged 40% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026. Lucas explains how Beijing is responding — by stockpiling and investing in overseas mines —…
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