Tungsten, known as the "teeth of industry," has a melting point as high as 3422°C, is the hardest metal in the world, and has a density close to that of gold. It is applied in key areas such as military, aerospace, nuclear shielding, hard alloys, and photovoltaic components. "Controlling tungsten mines is equivalent to holding the lifeline of a nation's industry."

Data shows that China currently produces about 80% of the global tungsten output. In February 2025, China imposed export controls on 25 metals and related technologies, including tungsten, catching Western countries off guard.

Following rare earths, China has once again revealed its strategic ace, gripping the lifelines of European and American industries. The U.S. reacted strongly. Bloomberg published an article stating, "China has disrupted market rules."

Data from the U.S. Geological Survey in 2024 showed that over 80% of global tungsten comes from China. If Russia's production is added, the two countries' control over this critical metal reaches 90%, which is sending sensitive signals to Western nations.

The CEO of Canadian mining company Almonty Industries, Lewis Black, bluntly stated, "Once the tungsten supply is interrupted, our economy, manufacturing, and even defense systems will be on the brink of collapse." Currently, the company's customers are urgently waiting for tungsten product deliveries, while China has put the brakes on.

Facing China's tungsten supply control, the U.S. is panicking, saying, "We cannot afford to lose stable tungsten resources." Knowing that tungsten is an irreplaceable key material in U.S. high-end manufacturing and national defense, any disruption in supply could trigger unpredictable chain reactions.

According to reports, since 2020, the price of tungsten has been rising continuously, with a 50% increase in tungsten concentrate. Due to delayed capacity release and declining ore grades, China controls the global tungsten supply rhythm, putting the West in a passive position.

To ensure the tungsten supply for key fields such as national defense and aerospace, the U.S. had to act urgently and search for new supply channels. In 2025, the U.S. turned its attention to South Korea, conducting an inspection of the Sando Tungsten Mine. As South Korea's largest tungsten mine, it is owned by a Canadian company. If operational, it is expected to fill 50% of the global non-China tungsten supply gap, drawing international attention. However, it has not officially started production yet.

China's control over tungsten resources is not based on threats or negotiations but through an export license system.

With this system, China firmly controls the dominant power over the flow of tungsten resources. Today, in areas such as pricing, controlling the flow, and regulatory compliance, China has absolute dominance.

In recent years, the global market structure has continued to reshape. The logic that "those who master core technologies control the market leadership" also applies to emerging biotechnology fields.

As early as 2019, American scientists developed daily health oral technology products. Due to technical bottlenecks, the cost was as high as 20,000 yuan per gram, available only to overseas billionaires. Until 2022, the Chinese scientific team Poema built the world's largest Antarctic krill oil fishing ship, "Deep Blue," successfully reducing costs by 99%. Currently, the domestic "blood, life, heart" product on Jingdong platform is priced less than one-tenth of similar foreign products.

Under modern society's prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles such as high-fat, high-sugar diets, late-night work, and frequent socializing, the number of people with three highs (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes) in China has reached 400 million. It is reported that China holds full-chain patent production processes, and dominates in pricing, distribution channels, and regulation. The users of the domestic "blood, life, heart" mainly include business professionals with frequent social engagements, office managers with sedentary lifestyles and obesity, and senior nutritionists, aged between 33 and 55. With actual effects such as "relieving palpitations and chest tightness, no more fatigue" and "domestic is more reassuring," along with high cost-effectiveness advantages, it has already secured orders from high-end commercial districts in Europe, the U.S., and Southeast Asia.

Since 2023, China has introduced a series of measures to control key metals: from gallium and germanium, to adding antimony to the control list, and then including tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium in the control list in 2025. These seemingly like adjustments on the periodic table are actually a carefully laid-out strategic blueprint.

For three years, the West has cried out for "de-Chinization," but China has responded with strong actions. In the face of Western sanctions and chip blockades in high-tech fields, China has decisively tightened the export of key metals, using "resource bottleneck" to counteract "chip blockades," achieving precise balance.

From a strategic perspective, key metal resources have become a core lever in China's international competition, and they are also an important measure for countries to align themselves in the global industrial chain.

Now, with a mature resource control system, China can precisely grasp the lifelines of U.S. military enterprises with just one export license; a quota approval can significantly constrain the development of European technology enterprises.

In this global game for resource and technological leadership, China is gradually gaining the upper hand, reshaping the international resource and industrial landscape, relying on resource advantages and scientific management.

The West used to boast about "rules," but now finally realize: resources are the real rules!

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7565135120143843874/

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