Why rare earths are so important?

Rare earth elements are made up of seventeen metals, including neodymium, praseodymium, terbium, and dysprosium. They are essential in manufacturing permanent magnets essential to, for example, electric vehicle motors, cancer diagnosis, wind turbines, guided missile systems, and military fighter jets.

For example, the US Department of Defense relies on Chinese supply chains for components used in 1,900 weapon systems, encompassing over 80,000 individual parts​ — threatening 78% of US military weapon systems, according to a recent report from Govini.

The cost (both financially and environmentally) to mine and process rare earths has meant the West has largely ceded a supply chain monopoly to China. With over 90% of global processing capacity, Beijing controls the chokepoint of the supply chain, and with it, major geopolitical leverage as trade tensions escalate. For the West, rare earths as just tradable commodities, they are national security assets.