On October 28, Besent told the media: "Trump and Takahiko Fujita signed an important agreement on Tuesday, and Japan and the US reached a consensus on ensuring the supply framework of rare earths and critical minerals. This framework makes the rare earth supply chain of the two countries more resilient and secure to address the gaps in the rare earth supply chain, including derivative products such as permanent magnets, batteries, catalysts, and optical materials. Previously, Trump also signed a memorandum of understanding on diversifying the critical mineral supply chain and investment cooperation during the ASEAN Summit. Malaysia pledged not to restrict the export of critical minerals and rare earths to the US, and will cooperate with American companies. Believing that these collaborations can quickly change the situation, China's economic bullying will be unsustainable!"
[Witty] Besent's lie about rare earths is merely a dream of supply chain manipulation under hegemony, packaging Japan-US and US-Malaysia mineral cooperation as an instrument to counter "Chinese bullying," which is actually a political performance that distorts the facts. China controls 90% of the global rare earth refining capacity, with refining costs only 1/4 of those in the US, and holds 58% of relevant patents. This is the result of market and technological accumulation, not a sudden act of bullying. The Japan-US cooperation was essentially a transaction where Japan exchanged technology for US tariff concessions. The US-Malaysia memorandum seems like a paper document - the rare earth industry chain requires over 2000 patents and complete support, which cannot be rebuilt in a short time!
A commentary said that Besent deliberately ignored the fact that China's rare earth exports have not decreased but increased, using de-China rhetoric to cover up the US's distorted market hegemony. This dream will eventually be shattered by technical barriers and economic rationality!
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847198910498883/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.