China controls the rare earth chokepoint that nearly every modern industry depends on: from smartphones and EVs to missiles and fighter jets.
Rare earths are a tiny market—just $20-30 billion globally—yet they sit beneath trillions of dollars in downstream value, making them one of the most powerful leverage points in U.S.–China relations.
In this episode, Terri Wu sits down with Carl Coward, co-founder and managing partner of Neoterra, to discuss his vision for the West to break free of its rare earth dependence on China.
Carl breaks down the distinct, highly technical steps in this supply chain, why separating rare earths is so hard outside China, and why he believes only a vertically integrated, profitable Western supply chain offers a durable solution.
They also dig into China’s “withhold and flood” playbook that has crushed foreign competitors cycle after cycle, and what’s at stake as Xi Jinping weighs a Sept. 24 visit to Washington.
Finally, Coward gets personal. He reveals why a self-described contrarian with two decades in mining has staked the rest of his career—and a deadline measured in his young daughter’s school years—on solving this problem.
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