“It will produce 84,000 tons in the first half of this year”
27% increase from the same period last year
Eliminate’rare earth weaponization’ for US attacks
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China has announced that it will significantly increase the production of rare earths, a core material widely used in electronics and advanced military weapons. Analysts say they showed a willingness to improve relations with the United States, disregarding some concerns that they could fight the United States by weaponizing rare earths.
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), on the 19th (local time), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources announced that they will increase the production of rare earths to 84,000 tons in the first half of this year. This is an increase of about 27% from 66,000 tons of production at the same time last year.
China is the world’s largest producer, accounting for more than 60% of the world’s rare earth production, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources set production to six rare earth producers twice a year. With such strict controls on rare earth production, concerns have been raised about China’s’rare earth weaponization’.
The announcement came amid reports that China is making a move to fight the United States by weaponizing rare earths. Bloomberg News reported on the 16th that the conflict between the United States and China is deepening and that China may restrict the export of rare earth refining technology to countries or companies that pose a threat to national security. The Financial Times (FT) also reported that China is struggling with a card that restricts exports of rare earths to hinder the U.S. production of advanced weapons.
Accordingly, local media and experts are interpreting China’s announcement as a step toward improving relations with the United States. SCMP delivered news of China’s expansion of rare earth production, and evaluated that “China has sent a hand of reconciliation to the United States.” Beijing University Professor Wang Yong of International Economics also explained that “China has declared that it will not use rare earths as a weapon to the West, especially the United States.”
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As China increased its production of rare earths, concerns over’rare earth weaponization’ have ended. This announcement, which coincides with the point of US President Joe Biden’s entry into the multilateral diplomacy stage, starting with the G7 Summit, is interpreted as a move by China to lower the level of conflict with the US.
According to the Chinese economic media, Chai-Shin, on the 19th (local time), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources announced’Notice on setting the quota for the first rare earth mining and smelting in 2021′, increasing the amount of rare earth mining in the first half of this year to 84,000 tons. He said he would. This is a 27% increase from the same period last year. It has also announced that the scale of smelting rare earth will be set to 81,000 tons, a 27.5% increase from the same period last year. David Merriman, a rare earth expert at Rothkill, a London-based market research firm, said it was the largest production volume since the introduction of the rare earth quota system in China.
As a result, it is evaluated that the concerns about China’s’rare-earth weaponization’, which have been raised one after another, have been resolved. Earlier, Bloomberg News reported that China is reviewing a policy banning the export of rare earth refining technology to countries or companies that pose a threat to national security, sparking concerns about the use of rare earth weapons. The Financial Times (FT) also cited anonymous insiders, saying, “The Chinese government is considering restricting the production and export of 17 rare earth species, which are key raw materials for US strategic commodities such as F-35 fighters.” .
In fact, the United States has also taken steps toward’rare earth independence’ in line with China’s move. On the 2nd of this month, Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Defense invested $30.4 million (about 33.6 billion won) in Australian rare earth company Linas to build a rare earth processing facility in an industrial zone in southern Texas the day before. Following July of last year, another large-scale investment was put in, which was interpreted as a determination to reduce dependence on China by self-solving the series of processes from production to processing in the United States. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States relies on imports for more than 80% of its demand for rare earths.
China’s announcement, which came out amid rising tensions between the US and China over rare earths, is evaluated as a hand of China’s reconciliation toward the United States, to the extent that the United States is taking a concrete step toward independence of rare earths. Wang Yong, a professor of international economics at Peking University, told Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) that “the Biden administration should take China’s goodwill seriously and improve relations between the two countries.”
This announcement is particularly noticeable when US President Joe Biden first appeared on the multilateral diplomatic stage after taking office. This is because, even before taking office, President Biden has revealed a policy to actively respond to the expansion of China’s power by holding hands with traditional allies such as Europe. In fact, President Biden attended the G7 Summit and the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the world’s largest international security forum, and reaffirmed the strong public stance. He stressed that China is deteriorating the foundations of the international economic system, and that the United States and Europe should join hands to respond to China.
However, European countries showed differences in their positions with the United States in the field of security. In particular, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized Europe’s’strategic autonomy’, saying that the US should reduce its dependence on security. “Nato needs a more political approach,” said President Macron. “I believe the best way to expand European involvement in NATO is for countries to take more responsibility for security.” The New York Times (NYT) evaluated that “as Europe is promoting technological independence from the US and China, it is also setting a goal for security independence.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel also showed a distance from the United States, saying, “The interests (of the United States and Germany) are not completely aligned.” It is interpreted as a statement aimed at the opposition of the US to the gas pipe connection project between Germany and Russia.
As China’s position in Europe strengthens, European countries take a cautious approach to public relations. According to Eurostat, an EU statistical agency, last year China outpaced the United States as the EU’s largest trading partner. In addition, as the two countries recently signed an investment agreement and are undergoing ratification work, the gap in European trade between China and the United States is expected to widen further. This is one of the reasons it is difficult for Europe to unconditionally cooperate with the biden administration’s pressure on China. “I am not afraid of Europe going its own way,” Politico said.
Some point out that President Biden’s calculation method has become complicated over public relations. Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute for International Relations at the Chinese Academy of Foreign Relations, told the state-run Global Times on the 21st, “Each country will consider what their real interests are when formulating foreign policy.” “The serious confusion in the United States seriously undermined the confidence of our allies.” This means that the US’ efforts to persuade Europe to solidify its anti-China route have failed.
/ Reporter Kwak Yoon-ah [email protected]
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