The United States is facing a collision of two crises: China's tightening control over the minerals that fuel modern industry and America's exploding electricity demand from artificial intelligence. One is geopolitical, the other domestic, yet together they threaten to test the nation's economic and energy resilience in profound ways.
Earlier this month, Beijing further expanded its export controls on rare-earth metals and related technologies—adding new minerals to its restricted list and imposing tougher licensing rules on mining, smelting, magnet manufacturing, and recycling know-how. China's Ministry of Commerce defended the measures as necessary for national security and brushed off Washington's protests as hypocrisy.
