The 90-day pause of the United States-Chinese Trade War was 70

Last month, Trump administration launched an unprecedented magnitude war war against China, announcing an impressive 145% rate to Chinese imports. China responded by playing the hard ball. He imposed a 125% reciprocal rate on North -American merchandise. While previous stairs had seen China instant dialogue and cooperationThis time Beijing’s response was challenging. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that it was “ready to fight to the end. “”

Last weekend, the optics changed spectacularly. The United States and China agreed a 90 -day break In its trade war in which the United States were returned to the United States and 10% by China. This result was not surprised by us. As it turns out, Beijing has an ace of his sleeve. Ace is China’s global dominion in critical materials.

China’s strategic ace was not built during the night. It began with a strong investment in human capital, which is underlined by the emergence of China as a world leader in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Just two decades ago, China led only three of the 64 critical technology fields, while the United States dominated 60, according to the Tracker of Critical Technology (ASPI) of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). Since then, the tables have turned. Today, China has taken lead in 57 of these fields, and the United States now leads only seven.

The new Stem supremacy of China is based not only on state -based policies, but also on China’s economic elites, a rural and educated young and educated young group born. According to the Elite World Database34% of China’s economic elites studied engineering, gaining experience in fields such as material science, robotics and aerospace.

Although China has only recently become dominant in the STEM field called the three MS: Mining and Mineral Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Sciences and Materials Engineering. China’s dominance in all three EMS is crucial because it bases the extraction, processing and application of critical minerals that drive modern technology and national security.

China’s commitment to STEM and, more specifically, with the three EM, allows it to exercise the power of monopoly almost on rare earth elements and critical materials. Today, China controls approximately 70% of rare land mining and more than 90% of processing capacity worldwide. This matters because the elements of the Rare Earth (Rees), a group of 17 minerals, are essential for many technologies, from consumer electronics to military technology. Neodimi magnets lead out of sea and electric vehicles, while Europium and Terbium illuminate LED screens and smartphone screens.

When it comes to defense, the bets are even higher. In fact, an F-35 hunting jet requires more 900 pounds From rare lands, a DDG-51 destroyer Arleigh Burke needs 5,200 pounds and a Virginia class submarine consumes more than £ 9,200. It is not strange that this 23 generals of retired four stars And the Admirals have pressed the forms and means of the United States House to protect tax reductions for critical mineral projects.

If the United States and the vulnerability of the West to rule the rare lands of China is not bad enough, the United States geological survey said in March the 44 critical minerals, such as antimony, chromium, graphite, lithium, titanium and vanadian, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China LED production 30.

Increased China has been over 70 years in the realization. Dates back to 1950 when Chinese geologists discovered the Bayan OBO Deposit In Inner Mongolia, one of the largest rare land reserves in the world. In 1972, Peking University professor Xu Guangxian, a chemist formed by Columbia University, made a breakthrough when he developed the “waterfall extraction theory”. This was called “China’s shock” by western observers. Allowed China to extract rare land to a quarter of the western cost.

In 1975, China institutionalized its ambitions by establishing the National Group of Development and Application of the National Rare Earthestablishing the bases for long -term strategic planning. By 1991, four rare earth elements were designated as protected mineralsrestricting foreign property and investments. In 2001, China Tenth plan of five years solidified this approach to the list of rare lands as a goal of national development. This strategic approach was more confused on October 1, 2024, when the State Council implemented sweeps “Regulation of rare land management. “These new rules consolidated government control over exploration, mining, processing and export of rare earth minerals.

China’s advantage of critical material is a punch of a two that extends far beyond its borders. For one thing, almost anyone who wants to process Rare Earth materials must send them to China. In addition, in the last two decades, Beijing has strategically invested in critical material projects worldwide. For example, in Brazil, Chinese companies have reached compensation agreements Almost all the way out of the Serra Verde projectIt includes neodimi, prraseodimi, terbium and dysprosis. In Greenland, Shenghe Resources, partially state -owned in China, has a minority participation in Kvanefjeld MinaIt contains 1.5 million metric tons of rare earth oxides. In Africa, Chinese companies control 70% of mines In the Democratic Republic of the Congo and having agreements for the rare lands of Ngualla project In Tanzania. Even in the United States, Shenghe Resources has a 7.7% Participation in Mountain Mountain MountainsA mine that, ironically, has been announced as the best hope in the United States to overcome China’s strangeness in rare lands.

China is aware of its strategic Ace in the Trump Administration trade war. For example, in 1992, the Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, declared famous: “The Middle East has oil; China has rare land. “In addition, China knows how to exercise its dominance. In 2010, in the midst of a dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, China suddenly Cut exports from rare earth in Japan for two months. The impact was deep: Japan, which was based on China for more than 80% of its imports from rare lands, faced strong interruptions. The price of Cerium oxide, a compound of rare key ground, increased by 660%. The Japan electronics sector, including companies such as Sound and Punkup to a 30% increase in component costs were reported Due to the seizure. Then, In 2023, Beijing Restricted exports de Gallium and Germanium, a critic for semiconductors and missile systems, in response to U.S. restrictions on Chinese access to advanced chip technology. In 2024 China increased further, imposing export controls Seven additional rare earth items. This tightened the screws of global supply chains. More recently, in December 2024, China implemented a complete ban on antimony exports, increasing its price by 134%.

Last month, in response to President Trump, China used its rare land lever to go after North -Americans. China did so by restricting rare land exports such as dysprosis, which is used in electric vehicle magnets and demanding US companies requesting export licenses in a period of months. This action caused panic among automobile manufacturers. In fact, as Elon Musk pointed Last month, China’s export stopped to magnets containing heavy rare lands interrupted Tesla’s plans to make Optimus robots, emphasizing the strategic importance of these magnets in avant -garde technology. These movements demonstrate China’s desire to weave their close monopoly to counteract U.S. commercial aggressions, with the potential of disturbing the North -American industries from electric vehicles to defense manufacture.

China’s dominance in critical materials has made them any basic products anymore. They are a strategic lever. It is clear that President Trump and the United States are playing with fire.

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• Mining has not evolved in decades. The US has to reinvent it as China affects its grip on critical minerals

This story originally presented to Fortune.com