The United States has embarked on its most aggressive push yet to break China's stranglehold on critical minerals. Last month, President Trump announced Project Vault - a $12 billion government-backed fund designed to stockpile essential materials for industrial use during emergencies.
The initiative comes as Washington scrambles to address vulnerabilities laid bare by China's rare-earth embargo last year, "Hvylya" reports, referencing a Wall Street Journal analysis of how physical resources are reshaping global power. Beijing controls 60% of rare-earth mining, 91% of refining and 94% of sintered magnet production.
On Monday, Washington struck a preliminary deal with Australian miner Lynas to secure scarce "heavy" rare earths - a market segment China dominates almost entirely. Successive U.S. administrations have also prodded global semiconductor companies, including Taiwanese giant TSMC, to build chip factories on American soil so that a conflict in Asia would not cripple U.S. industry.
"Because it's a political priority, the U.S. is in a better place than it was as far as vulnerability to China," said Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines. He cautioned, however, that rebuilding munition inventories amid conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East will only increase pressure on demand for certain minerals.
American strategists are starting to think more like military planners from World War II or the Cold War - considering how all of society's resources can be mobilized and protected in a war effort. The government has acquired ownership stakes in mining companies and is deploying new tools to expand munitions production.
Yet with many U.S.-backed mining and refining projects still years from coming online, China retains the capacity to cause serious disruptions if relations deteriorate.
Also read: US Burns Through Expensive Missile Stocks in Iran as China Watches and Calculates.