The Race for Rare Earths

From a top expert based in Beijing, a deeply reported account of China’s chokehold on rare earth metals and what it means for the future.

Rare earth metals are essential for today’s most important technologies, from iPhones to artificial intelligence to advanced missiles. They are vital for the electric cars and wind turbines needed to address climate change. Yet one country has achieved an almost total monopoly on the most coveted kinds of rare earth metals and has weaponized its control against the world’s democracies: China.

In The Race for Rare Earths, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Keith Bradsher reveals how a carefully crafted strategy—and other nations’ missteps—enabled China to dominate rare earths. When the United States, Europe, and Japan halted rare earth production over pollution and radiation fears, they outsourced the industry to China, which has extensive rare earth reserves. China perfected the process of refining rare earths while shifting much of the pollution to Myanmar. China is now reaping the benefits, leveraging trade embargos and other restrictions on rare earths to secure larger geopolitical aims.

The Race for Rare Earths is an urgent wake-up call. China’s control over rare earths is not a foregone conclusion, but the US—and the rest of the world—must act now to break China’s dangerous monopoly.