
Commentary / World Mar 7, 2021
China’s weaponization of rare earths is bound to backfire
There was a time when China could cause the world to tremble by threatening its supply of rare earths. It’s long in the past.
For David Fickling's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
There was a time when China could cause the world to tremble by threatening its supply of rare earths. It’s long in the past.
One factor rules out most space mining at the outset: gravity. It guarantees that most of the solar system’s best mineral resources are to be found under our feet on Earth.
Beyond Meat Inc., the U.S. maker of plant-based burgers and sausages, announced a new product designed to crack China, the world’s biggest meat market: imitation ground pork.
Any targets laid out by politicians will find themselves up against institutional inertia, unintended consequences and political pushback.
Unlike cash laundering, which involves a relatively small number of casinos and businesses, invoice-based laundering can take place between almost any two companies.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused the the biggest drop in emissions in history and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Shutting down New Zealand's economy at a time when there’d been just 102 cases was a political gamble, but one that’s paid off.
The U.S., a nation founded on the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights, would do well to heed the example given by New Zealand.
Digging iron ore out of the ground and carrying it to port inevitably involves conflicts between miners and the Aboriginal traditional owners.
If Asia — and in particular China, which accounts for about half the world’s coal consumption — can’t break the habit, devastating climate change will be unavoidable.