China is at the very top of global supply chains essential to the mining, refining, packaging, shipment, and sale of rare earth metals used for semiconductors, electric vehicles, and other growing industries. The only way to prevent Beijing’s total consolidation of this dominance is for consumer industries to change their trading relationships and instead source from the United States, Australia, and other democratic nations, even if they must sometimes pay more, panelists said at a hearing hosted by the U.S–China Economic and Security Review Commission on June 9.
The hearing, titled “U.S.–China Competition in Global Supply Chains,” featured extensive testimony on how China’s control of global markets is likely to grow as demand continues to rise for semiconductors, computers, fiber optics, electric cars, medical and pharmaceutical devices, and numerous other products. China’s dominance already extends far, the panelists stated.
