While China has a near monopoly on rare earth element processing and refining, it has quietly become reliant on raw materials from the war-torn Myanmar.
  • Myanmar is one of the world’s largest suppliers of rare earth production, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
  • Experts say that most of those rare earths are sent to China, especially the less abundant heavy rare earth elements.
  • “Its production has significantly strengthened China’s dominant position, effectively giving Beijing a de facto monopoly over the global heavy rare earths supply chain,” said CSIS’s Gracelin Baskaran.