China's Secret Weapon: The Minerals America Can't Build Weapons Without

Описание: China controls 90% of rare earth processing — the minerals inside every F-35, every submarine, every smartphone. In October 2025, Beijing announced it can cut off supply to any military end-user. America may not be able to build the weapons it needs to defend itself.

In this video, I break down:

• The October 2025 export controls: China applies "foreign direct product rule" to rare earths
• What rare earths actually are and why they matter (neodymium, dysprosium, etc.)
• Military applications: F-35s contain 920 pounds of rare earth materials
• How China became dominant: Deng Xiaoping's strategy from the 1990s
• The 2010 Japan incident: first weaponization of rare earths
• The escalation timeline: 2023 tech ban → April 2025 restrictions → October 2025 FDPR
• The November 2025 pause: one year reprieve until November 2026
• American alternatives: Mountain Pass, Lynas USA, Energy Fuels — and why they're years away
• The "brain drain" prevention: China restricting technical expertise
• Mutual choking: rare earths vs. semiconductors — who wins?
• European vulnerability: 80% of firms within 3 steps of Chinese producers
• G-7 response and why it's not enough
• Five scenarios for how this develops

Sources: CSIS, War on the Rocks, IEA, European Parliament, China Briefing, Pentagon, Ministry of Commerce of China

📅 January 21, 2026

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💬 Comment: Should the US decouple from Chinese rare earths at any cost?

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