Why China’s rare earth dominance may be starting to crack

China’s efforts to tighten its grip on rare earths may have produced an unintended consequence: accelerating global efforts to build supply chains beyond Beijing’s control.

That’s the view of Gracelin Baskaran, Director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), who argues the United States and its allies are making meaningful progress despite China’s continued dominance in processing and permanent magnet manufacturing.

Devan Murugan speaks with Baskaran about why refining and magnet production—not mining—have become the industry’s biggest battleground, what Japan’s strategy can teach the West, and why investors should be looking beyond individual mines to the entire critical minerals value chain.