{"id":383667,"date":"2025-10-29T16:21:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T12:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scfr.ir\/uncategorized\/383667\/rare-minerals-chinas-strategic-lever-in-competition-with-the-west\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T16:21:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T12:51:22","slug":"rare-minerals-chinas-strategic-lever-in-competition-with-the-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scfr.ir\/en\/economy\/383667\/rare-minerals-chinas-strategic-lever-in-competition-with-the-west\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare Minerals, China\u2019s Strategic Lever in Competition with the West"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>China\u2019s Mineral Leverage: From Industrial Advantage to Geopolitical Tool<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amirhossein Moradi, in an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, stated: \u201cThe competition between the United States and China over rare minerals has moved beyond the economic level and has become a tool for redefining power in the global supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cOver the past three decades, China has, through continuous investment, established a complete chain from extraction to processing and downstream production of rare minerals, and now controls over 70 percent of global extraction and nearly 90 percent of its processing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moradi noted: \u201cThis concentration is not accidental; it is the result of a conscious decision that began in the 1990s with the support of the central government.<\/p>\n<p>He emphasized: \u201cRare minerals are the backbone of 21st-century technologies \u2014 from electric vehicle motors and wind turbines to smartphones and weapons systems. Under such circumstances, China practically controls the gateway to the industrial future \u2014 something that is unacceptable for Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Moradi, \u201cBeijing\u2019s recent move to restrict exports of certain key elements is a gradual use of this lever \u2014 a tool to warn the United States on the eve of a possible Trump\u2013Xi Jinping summit.\u201d He added: \u201cIf these restrictions are fully implemented, the global supply chain will face a disruption greater than the chip crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>U.S. Response: From Emergency Stockpiling to Mineral Cooperation with Allies<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Moradi explained: \u201cIn Trump\u2019s second term, the United States, to reduce dependence on China, adopted a three-pronged strategy involving emergency stockpiling, development of domestic mines, and cooperation with key allies. Even imposing an agreement on Ukraine to control that country\u2019s mines was part of this same strategy to balance China.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cA prime example of this policy is the Washington\u2013Canberra agreement on Australian mining projects, under which the two countries, through a joint investment of 8.5 billion dollars, are pursuing the extraction and processing of rare elements such as terbium, erbium, and yttrium to secure their supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to him, \u201cAt the same time, the United States has also become more active bilaterally and multilaterally \u2014 from cooperation with Ukraine and Canada to negotiations with the Pakistani military for the exploitation of that country\u2019s mineral resources.\u201d Moradi added: \u201cAlthough these measures may seem scattered, they pursue a common goal: creating a parallel supply chain capable of resisting Beijing\u2019s pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He recalled: \u201cNevertheless, the West is at least a decade behind China. Breaking Beijing\u2019s monopoly requires time, capital, expertise, and sustained political will \u2014 elements that few countries possess simultaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moradi stated, \u201cIn this competition, processing capability is more important than extraction. Despite possessing about 40 percent of underground reserves, the United States and its allies have only 15 percent of the refining capacity \u2014 the very domain where China has made heavy, long-term investments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scenarios Ahead: From Supply Chain Redefinition to Ongoing Strategic Rivalry<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The expert added: \u201cThe outlook of the China\u2013U.S. competition in the field of rare minerals should not be analyzed solely within the framework of supply and demand; rather, it must be seen as a battle for control over the value chain of future technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cAmerica\u2019s effort to reduce dependence will not necessarily lead to reduced tensions. On the contrary, this competition may expand into newer areas such as clean energy, defense industries, and artificial intelligence technologies, and usher in a new chain-based war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moradi stated: \u201cChina, through export policies and technical control, is seeking to consolidate and redefine its position. The recent restrictions are part of Beijing\u2019s strategy of counter-pressure on Washington \u2014 a clear message that China holds the upper hand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He noted: \u201cMeanwhile, these developments also contain important messages for Iran. Iran\u2019s diversity of mineral resources and its geoeconomic position along regional corridors can provide the groundwork for our country\u2019s significant role in the new global value chain \u2014 provided that a clear and international strategy is devised for the exploitation and processing of mines.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moradi emphasized: \u201cBy attracting technology and targeted investment, Iran can obtain a position beyond supplying raw materials and take an active role in the processing and technology stage. Such an approach will both contribute to the country\u2019s economic independence and strengthen Iran\u2019s geopolitical position in the future energy and technology equations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He concluded: \u201cIn the coming decade, the battle over rare minerals will be the silent war of the powers. Any country that controls the extraction, processing, and technological chain will be able to command not only the economy but the pulse of global politics.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Strategic Council Online \u2013 Interview: An East Asia affairs expert said, \u201cBy dominating the extraction and processing chain of rare minerals, Beijing has turned its industrial advantage into a geopolitical tool to redefine the balance of power in the global economy and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":383655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,13289,12726],"tags":[44117,13227,12741,44116,29544,12870],"class_list":["post-383667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-interview","category-10-en-2","tag-amirhossein-moradi","tag-china-en-2","tag--en","tag-rare-minerals","tag-strategic-competition"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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