China’s sweeping new restrictions on rare earth exports mark its first major effort to police the global flow of critical minerals it dominates, using the same playbook that allows the U.S. to wield power far beyond its shores.
The rules announced last week require overseas companies to obtain Chinese government approval before exporting products containing even trace amounts of certain rare earths that originated in China. The extraterritorial reach amounts to an assertion of control of global supply chains for materials essential for everything from fighter jets to electric vehicles.
"After decades of striving, China finally has a few real technological advantages over America,” wrote Arthur Kroeber and Laila Khawaja at Gavekal Research in a Monday note.
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