China’s Premier inspects rare earth facilities, hints at leverage in US rivalry
China’s second-ranking official, Premier Li Qiang, inspected rare earth facilities in the southern province of Jiangxi on Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua reported, using the visit to hint at intensifying competition with the US over strategic minerals.
Such pre‑holiday inspections are traditionally moments for China’s top leadership to telegraph policy direction before Lunar New Year festivities begin. Wednesday’s readout subtly pointed to how access to components essential to everything from autos to smartphones has become one of Beijing’s most potent bargaining chips in negotiations with Washington.
Rare earths are also key to the manufacture of weapons.
“The important value of rare earths in developing advanced manufacturing and promoting green and low-carbon transformation is becoming increasingly prominent,” Li was quoted as saying, a veiled reference to the turmoil manufacturers were plunged into last year when China abruptly tightened rare earth export controls after Washington further restricted Chinese investment in the US.
“It is necessary to promote the deep integration of industry, academia, research and application, (and) expand the application of rare earth technology,” Li added.
Analysts say the US and China face a contest to guarantee long-term access to the critical minerals, one that could see Beijing gain a new foothold in global corporate decision-making should it follow through and introduce legislation requiring companies using even trace amounts of Chinese rare earths to report their intentions to its commerce ministry.
Li did not directly mention the US in his recorded remarks. He visited a research institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences think tank, the report added, along with several unnamed enterprises in the rare earth production line.
US Vice President JD Vance last week unveiled plans to marshal allies into a preferential trade bloc for critical minerals, proposing coordinated price floors as Washington escalates efforts.
(By Joe Cash; Editing by Chris Reese and Lincoln Feast)
Indonesia identifies eight blocks with large rare earth reserve potential
Indonesia has identified eight mining blocks with large potential for rare earth elements and plans to launch two research projects to develop rare earth processing technology, the head of a government mineral industry agency said on Monday.
Indonesia, an archipelago and the largest economy of Southeast Asia, has large reserves of a number of critical minerals as well as deposits of rare earth elements. Rare earths are a group of 17 elements including 15 silvery-white metals used to make magnets – which in turn power motion for electric vehicles, cell phones and missile systems.
The archipelago is also the world’s largest producer of nickel products as well as the biggest exporter of tin.
Mineral Industry Agency chair Brian Yuliarto said that the eight mining blocks with significant potential for rare earth elements and other strategic minerals were identified in places such as Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Bangka Belitung islands.
“Apart from rare earths, some of these blocks also contain several other minerals, namely tungsten, tantalum and antimony, which play a very large role in the defence industry,” Yuliarto told members of parliament.
The blocks will be mined by the new state-owned miner Perminas, he added.
Yuliarto declined to give details on the estimated reserves for the minerals but said they had “promising enough” reserves to compete with other countries.
He said his agency planned to launch the two research projects “in the near future” in Mamuju, West Sulawesi in the centre of Indonesia, adding that the research projects will be done in parallel with preparations for mining exploration of the rare earth elements.
(By Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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