The US cannot eliminate its dependence on China
---#Prem Sagar Poudel----------------------
Although American leaders, including Donald Trump, talk big about self-reliance and the 'Made in America' campaign, the reality exposes a different reality than their rhetoric. The dependence on China, especially in the processing and technology of rare earth elements, has become so deep that it is not possible to end it with the current strategy.
The world's rapidly growing green energy and high-tech sectors require the processing of rare earth minerals such as lithium, cobalt, neodymium, praseodymium, etc., which are essential elements for the production of energy. Even though the US has its own mines of these minerals, it is unwilling to build the necessary infrastructure to process them. These minerals are also indispensable for technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicles, and high-tech missile systems. But the US doesn't want to take the risk of processing them itself.
China has reached its current position by increasing its investment in rare earth mineral processing decades ago. About 85% of the world's rare earth oxide processing takes place in China. This is not just a production, but also a strategic policy. China has been strategically strengthening its control over the technology supply chain since the 1980s. In 2010, China also provided a clear example of its geopolitical use by reducing its exports of rare earth minerals during a diplomatic dispute with Japan.
In the United States, rare earth minerals are processed using vast amounts of water, energy, and chemicals. It produces poisonous waste, which is strictly regulated by environmental laws in the US. In such a situation, American companies do not want to open these factories.v China, however, has decided to pay off this ‘environmental price’, and become the world’s rare earth processing center. China now has huge industrial clusters, where such processing factories are in a network with each other.
Another major advantage of China is its cheap, yet efficient labor force. Engineers, technicians, and managers skilled in rare earth processing technology are relatively readily available in China. Similarly, government policies, subsidies, and an investment-friendly environment have also greatly helped these industries develop. Rare earth minerals are used in most of the world's smartphones, electric vehicles, chip manufacturing plants, and high-tech military equipment.
All of this is deeply dependent on China's supply. So, no matter how much American leaders talk big, without China, America can neither keep its technology advanced nor make the green energy campaign a success. Strategically, the supply chains of the US and China are deeply intertwined.
China has established global dominance in rare earth processing for decades through scientific thinking, long-term strategy, through policy determination. Because the US itself has failed to balance its environmental policies and economic interests, eliminating its dependence on China has become only a matter of political rhetoric. In this context, China's geo-economic strategy has become an exemplary example for all developing countries.
