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0 sats \ 13 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 16h \ parent \ on: China's Rare Earth Monopoly is Diminishing charts_and_numbers
How do you figure that?
Did you even read the article?
You do understand China almost completely enjoys a global monopoly on refining of rare earths?
For now not forever
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Could be forever- will be for at least a decade- and will cost trillions in government subsidies and probably never be competitive with Chinas refiners.
By refining at such low cost is how China has built global dominance because other refiners could not compete and so gave up.
Good example of free markets failing and state strategy winning huge power projection potential.
USA cannot fight a major war for at least a decade without Chinese support.
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China is not a free market
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Correct in some areas the government is highly involved- as it was highly involved in the development of global rare earths supply chain dominance- that gives China massive strategic advantage- it means China can say to Trumps attempt to dictate to global trading partners 'fuck you'.
There is never a guaranteed free market when it comes to nation state competition- USA encouraged global free trade when it thought its benefited from it but now that China has won the trade war and enjoys trillion dollar trade surpluses USA wants to block free trade with tariffs and bullying.
China anticipated that by investing is multiple strategic supply chains like rare earths and China again wins against US imperialism.
Good example of free markets failing and state strategy winning huge power projection potential.
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Notice how you said dollars and not Yuan
The world will never accept the Yuan to settle international trade
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Russia and Iran already do. Saudis sell most of their oil to China and have joined mBridge and BRICS.
Chinas dominance in global trade in both manufactured goods and commodities means nearly all nations must trade and do trade with China.
The dollar/SWIFT is currently imposed on most nations via the legacy petrodollar regime and SWIFT- well that system is in definite decline and China is already operating a number of alternative trade payments routes which USA dare not sanction because China is at the same time holding up the IMF and legacy SWIFT system.
It is a transition and China is taking its time but the transition is under way and not reversing any time soon- if ever because China simply dominates on trade and historically such dominance eventually results in dominance in terms of currency and protocols.
USA is in decline- China is rising. Will that be reversed? Possible, but hard to see that it will be.
There is definitely a major challenge to the US hegemony and US is now definitely on the defensive as Trumps multiple actions clearly show. Amazing how in denial of what has already happened the majority of US citizens are. The sense of entitlement is huge.
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Russia and Iran might have lower GDP than the state of California.
China is not rising. Their most the best and the brightest (aka their billionaires) send sperm here to have a baby here. Americans don’t do that.
No one wants to leave America yet China keeps people trapped.
Look what happened to Jack Ma when he got to big.
The CCP sucks and everyone knows it. No one is happy when they come around.
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'Look at what happened to Jack Ma when he got too big'
Yes China stomps on any private enterprise that threatens the states strategic objectives and Ma did challenge the Chinese ambitions regarding trade payments and banking.
The USA used to also regulate and restrict anti competitive cartels and monopolies- not so much these days however since they have more power over the US government than ever...and that's not always a good thing.
Allowing corporates too much power is crony capitalism- something that today afflicts the US to an obvious and tragic extent. US government is directed by corporate lobbyists more than anything else. That is not good for the US as a whole in most cases.
We have recently had warnings here in New Zealand not to travel to the US due to increasingly intrusive and unpredictable travel conditions- the US demanding visitors disclose their last 5 years of social media posts to US authorities.
There is a contest for global dominance between China and the US and in many parameters China is winning. Crippling the US military by controlling the supply of rare earths is just one of many examples of Chinese winning ground.
China has already won the trade war- it produces manufactured goods at the most competitive price and pays the best price for commodities- that gives China huge economic power...and growing wealth. It has played capitalism on the rules the west made, and won.
Now US wants to change the rules and is itself enacting a large dose of state capitalism! Lets see how that turns out shall we?
As a westerner I find it astounding how arrogant and entitled many US citizens appear to be. Pride comes before a fall as they say and to many traditional allies to the US outside the US we look on in horror.