Beijing’s Trump Card: US Depends on China’s Rare Earth Minerals

U.S. and Chinese officials met in London last week, agreeing on a “framework” for trade negotiations to continue. At the center of the agreements? Rare earth minerals. Why are “rare earths” so important, why is Trump’s foreign policy — from annexation of Greenland to pursuing a peace deal in Ukraine to his trade war with China — centered around these minerals, and how has China come to dominate this industry? Geopolitical analyst Marco Fernandes joins Amanda Yee this week to discuss.

Our understanding of China — and U.S.-China relations — has become a defining feature of all global politics. The China Report is a new show produced in collaboration with Pivot to Peace where every week, we will be helping you through all the propaganda with an independent view of the country we are taught to hate, but know so little about.