Outside In | Trump may be realising he has less leverage over China than he thought

When did you last notice that laptops invariably carry a little “Intel inside” sticker? Aware that its microprocessors were important but invisible, Intel thought it was essential marketing to alert the world to their existence at the heart of every computer.

Andrew Chan, executive director of the Malaysian Semiconductor Industry Association, calls the 17 largely unpronounceable rare earth elements – which are in fact not rare, just hell on earth to process – the “hidden backbone” of modern technology and a “geopolitical instrument shaping the future of energy, AI and defense”.

Until a sudden rumpus last week in the US-China trade negotiations, few knew much about rare earths, their importance and the extent of China’s stranglehold on them. Of those who did know, few might have recognised that rare earths could pull the rug out from under US President Donald Trump’s disruptive tariff war, or that Chinese threats to restrict exports could hobble America’s upper hand in reining back China and even fundamentally threaten US defence industries and national security.

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What are rare earths, and why is China’s dominance facing global pushback

What are rare earths, and why is China’s dominance facing global pushback