“Experience that can’t be bought”: how Beijing maintains control over rare earth metals

China agreed to defer export restrictions for a year rare earth metalswithout which work is impossible high technology – from microchips to rocket engines.

After the meeting Xi Jinping And Donald Trump China announced a temporary deferment of export restrictions for rare earth metals – key materials for all modern industry. The decision gives the global economy just a year of respite before a new round of “mineral” dependence on Beijing begins.

“The German economy has exactly one year to strengthen its position. We need to take advantage of this time,” he said in an interview BILD geologist at the Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources Germany Harald Elsner.

Rare earth elements are used in production batteries, microchips, electric motors And military equipment. However, their extraction and processing are virtually monopolized Chinawhere the largest deposits and mineral separation plants are concentrated. Any attempts by other countries to establish their own production face high costs and environmental risks.

An example is Germany: a project to develop a field in the Saxon Storkwice recognized as economically ineffective. The content of rare earth elements is too low, and processing is accompanied by the formation of radioactive waste. “Even if we have raw materials, we do not have the infrastructure and experience to turn them into finished material,” note German experts.

According to the US Geological Survey, there are about 110 million tons of rare earth metals in the world, of which 44 million fall on China. More large reserves are located in Brazil, Vietnam, Russia And India. But the decisive factor remains not resources, but technology.

“To separate rare earth elements, it takes up to 1,700 chemical operations, which take about 30 days. The Chinese know every step of this process. It’s an experience you can’t buy“, Elsner emphasized.

While other countries are just looking for ways to diversify, Beijing remains the only power capable of controlling entire production cycle — from ore mining to delivery of finished components. This gives China a strategic advantage in global technology competition and makes it a major player in the 21st century market for critical resources.

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