China’s Global Times has an article referencing various Chinese analysts who point out that if the U.S. is willing to de-couple from China, even including mineral supply chains that are of significant strategic importance for Western economies and militaries, that therefore the U.S. is preparing for a longer-term conflict with China. It would be far easier and less costly for the U.S. to mend ties with China, the Global Times notes, than to go out of its way to de-couple and search for new, emergency mineral suppliers. But clearly their intent is not to save money or make peace, but to maintain hegemony.
The main minerals in question are titanium, tungsten, cobalt, and lithium, but the most important is antimony. Some of these, such as lithium and cobalt, serve crucial roles in rechargeable batteries, and are therefore necessary as part of the craze to go “carbon-neutral.” But they also serve irreplaceable functions in arms and munitions productions, and the defense industry would be helpless without them. And of course, China is the major supplier.
