If the pressure on the supply chain of the mobile industry is not strong enough, then there is another problem: rare earths.

These 17 rare earth elements are essential for the manufacture of mobile phones and other electronic products and everything from electric cars to medical equipment and advanced weapons.

The immediate problem is the skyrocketing prices.

For example, in the past year, the price of lithium carbonate used to make mobile phone lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicle batteries has risen by 150%; praseodymium, which is essential for magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines, has risen by 74%; and for LEDs and lasers The important terbium oxide is 60% higher.

One of the reasons is the coup in Myanmar, which interrupted the supply of the world's third largest exporter of rare earths.

But this is also because the surge in demand for high-tech products has led to a shortage of chips, coupled with the growing enthusiasm for electric vehicles, which require medium and heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium to drive motors.

In September, the Chinese government raised rare earth quotas by 20% to a record level to increase supply. This is the second time this year that the ceiling has been raised, after a 25% increase in February, which is said to be a positive attitude towards the United States.

This did not alleviate the price problem, but it also pointed out another problem, that is, China's excessive role in the global market.

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This is no accident. The "New York Times" investigation report on China's acquisition of a large number of mineral assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo shows that Chinese state-owned banks have provided at least US$12 billion in credit for these transactions and provided as much as US$124 billion in credit to the Chinese mining companies involved.

China dominates the global production of rare earth metals and is the only country with end-to-end capabilities from mining to processing. It accounts for about 55% of global mineral output and about 85% of refining capacity.

It seems that China's control over the United States in terms of rare earths is the same as that of the Americans over China in terms of semiconductor technology, but this is not the case. Despite its considerable output, China is still unable to meet all of its needs, and the United States is one of its largest external suppliers.

But China has shown that it is not ashamed to weaponize its dominance in rare earths. In 2010, during the Senkaku Islands dispute, it imposed a 40-day export ban on Japan, driving prices soaring.

Therefore, it is not surprising that rare earths have become another front line of competition between the United States and China.

The Biden administration has identified rare earth production as part of the fragility of its supply chain.

Much of its focus is on the huge demand for key rare earth elements used in electric vehicles and other green technologies. One estimate is that the United States must increase its rare earth production tenfold to keep up with the government's electric vehicle goals.

Congress is now considering a bill to provide a tax credit for the production of magnets for electric car engines using rare earths. The Department of Defense recently provided Western Australia-based Lynas (the largest rare earth miner outside of China) with a $30 million grant to help it build a factory in the United States.

But the required complexity and scale mean that it will take at least ten years for the United States to consider establishing a complete domestic supply chain.

— Robert Clark, Contributing Editor, Light Reading Contributing Editor

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