Toward Decline
US-China rare earth clash 2.0? Fragile truce tested as tit-for-tat moves return
South China Morning Post Major outlet·2026-06-22China EconomyP1: Resource SovereigntyP3: Industrial BaseP5: Strategic Decoupling
Why it matters
China's escalating rare-earth export controls signal willingness to weaponise critical-mineral supply chains in great-power competition, directly threatening Australia's resource-sovereignty position and industrial-base resilience. Australia relies on secure access to rare earths for defence manufacturing, renewable energy, and advanced electronics; renewed US-China trade friction raises risks of supply-chain disruption and reinforces the strategic imperative for Australian decoupling and domestic critical-mineral processing capacity.
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