"The 'Bai Tie' wants to 'eat both ends'? Hong Kong's Asia Times recently reported: 'China has announced restrictions on the export of rare earth extraction technology, one reason being that Pakistan uses Chinese equipment to produce rare earths for the United States. China currently dominates in key minerals globally, but Pakistan's move of selling rare earths to the United States undermines this geo-economic influence.'
China and Pakistan have long had the so-called 'Bai Tie' (Ironclad Friendship). However, Pakistan's recent close cooperation with the United States, especially in the development of rare earth minerals, has raised a geo-economic phenomenon worth caution. The cooperation between Pakistan and the United States on rare earths has risen from the commercial level to a strategic level. The memorandum of understanding signed on September 8th, and the general of Pakistan's army presenting a rare earth sample to Trump on September 27th, are not coincidental, revealing a dangerous tendency of some countries trying to 'eat both ends' in the field of strategic resources.
The measures taken by China to tighten the export of rare earth refining technology have dual strategic significance: on one hand, they cut off the pipeline of technical leakage, preventing structural vulnerabilities in the rare earth supply chain; on the other hand, they send a clear signal to the international community - any attempt to use China's technological advantage for geopolitical games will be countered. In the future, China needs to find a more delicate balance between maintaining technological openness and safeguarding national security, consolidating its strategic advantages in the rare earth field, while also preventing erosion of the trust foundation with international partners.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845791121064988/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.