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Juan Carlos López
Senior WriterAn engineer by training. A science and tech journalist by passion, vocation, and conviction. I've been writing professionally for over two decades, and I suspect I still have a long way to go. At Xataka, I write about many topics, but I mainly enjoy covering nuclear fusion, quantum physics, quantum computers, microprocessors, and TVs.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Rare earth elements fuel commercial, technological, and geostrategic competition between the U.S. and China. These chemical elements are relatively scarce and usually don’t appear in pure form in nature. What makes them special are their physicochemical properties. Thanks to these traits, rare earth elements have become valuable resources in many industries, especially electronics and renewable energy.
Over the past year and a half, the Chinese government has used its control of these elements to defend strategic interests amid confrontations with the U.S., Europe, and their allies. China can do this because it produces about 70% of the rare earth elements on the world market. Even more importantly, it controls 90% of the processing industry required before rare earth elements can be used.
China Refines 99% of the World’s Heavy Rare Earths Elements
The U.S., Europe, and their allies aim to achieve independence and strengthen their supply chains in the current tense environment. They’re working on it, but the task is not easy. The EU, in particular, has set a goal to be self-sufficient in 10% of the rare earth elements it needs by 2030, thanks to new deposits like the one mining company LKAB discovered in January 2023 near Kiruna in northern Sweden.
China’s starting point is highly favorable. As mentioned above, the country controls 70% of the global market and 90% of rare earth processing. But another key figure stands out: China refines 99% of the world’s heavy rare earth elements—a subgroup characterized by higher density and smaller ionic radius.
Heavy rare earth elements are a subgroup known for their higher density and smaller ionic radius.
Additionally, heavy rare earth elements are less abundant in Earth’s crust than light rare earths. This subgroup includes elusive minerals with exotic names such as gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, and thulium. China’s 99% control of this segment’s processing doesn’t happen by chance. This dominance comes from a long-term strategy led by its educational institutions.
According to The New York Times, China has 39 university chemistry programs that specialize in rare earth elements. In these programs, students reportedly gain the expertise to pursue careers in the chemical industry, specifically in rare earth processing. This focus is one of the country's greatest strengths in the field—especially given that U.S. universities currently don’t offer a single program dedicated to rare earths.
The Times doesn’t mention it, but European countries that depend on rare earth elements—such as Germany and France—as well as Japan and South Korea, are likely in the same situation as the U.S. These nations will need time to catch up to China’s current advantage, so it’s reasonable to expect China to lead the rare earth processing industry in the short and medium term.
Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, summed up the challenge facing the U.S. and Europe: “There are a few approvals coming through, but they are far from being sufficient to prevent imminent production halts. We are still facing a major disruption of supply chains.”
Image | Daniel Esteves (Unsplash)
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