Page 350 - 2021 White Paper
P. 350
1 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
the sector and reduce the environmental effects of critical mineral imports from Asia. The drive to
unsustainable processing methods. The Ministry decouple the US from China has been thrown into
of Industry and Information Technology said it will overdrive by the coronavirus pandemic and new
enact key measures to rectify the rare-earth market calls from hawks in Washington to take a tougher
order, improve management of the market, create a approach to confronting Beijing’s rise as a global
better business environment, make breakthroughs rival. Lawmakers and Trump administration officials,
in key rare-earth-related technologies and crack starting with the president, are also increasingly
down on violations of laws and regulations. "China's leery of maintaining the kind of deep economic
rare-earth export quota didn't have the desired integration with China that has marked the last two
effect on the importing countries, especially decades (Gramer and Johnson). While the defense
Western countries, because smuggling of rare industry’s demand for rare earths is a much smaller
earths was rampant and some export companies fraction compared to other growing markets, such
falsified customs codes to evade the export quota as electric That being said, the Pentagon plans to
and continued to export them to other countries," award $40 million for rare earth minerals in 2021,
Jin Baisong, a retired researcher at the Chinese but it's uncertain whether that would apply to a
Academy of International Trade and Economic single program or the entire program (Cammarata).
Cooperation, said in an article published on China
Daily's website (Ouyang and Zhong). Oil and Gas
Meanwhile, rising tensions with China and the The growth in both domestic production and
race to repatriate supply chains in the wake of the imports follow the resumption of activities after
COVID-19 pandemic have given fresh impetus to lockdown restrictions were lifted. The Chinese
US efforts to launch a renaissance in rare earths, government has pushed for higher production and
the critical minerals at the heart of high technology, consumption of gas to curb pollution and advance
clean energy, and especially high-end US defense the country’s climate change pledges, moving away
platforms. But it’s not going well, despite a slew from coal. China is poised to surpass Japan as the
of new bills and government initiatives aimed at world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas
rebuilding a rare earth supply chain in the United (LNG) in 2023 (Kallanish). The NEA said it would
States that would, after decades of growing reliance focus on expanding its four key energy production
on China and other foreign suppliers, restore US bases to achieve the goals - one offshore in Bohai
self-reliance in a vital sector (Gramer and Johnson). Bay in northern China, as well as onshore in Sichuan
One of the major problems is the only large-scale province in the southwest, in the Erdos Basin and
producer of separated rare earth compounds in the far western Xinjiang region. It also aims to
outside China is Australia’s Lynas Corp. Ltd. It was push forward development of so-called new energy
awarded Pentagon funding in April 2020 for a - including renewables, fuel ethanol and coal-to-
heavy rare earth separation plant in Texas, while liquids - in order to improve its capability to replace
privately held MP Materials was likewise chosen for conventional hydrocarbons. The annual plan also set
the creation of a processing facility at the United a target of having around 900 gigawatts of installed
States' only operating rare earth mine, Mountain non-fossil fuel power generation capacity in 2020
Pass in California. Despite its strategic importance, and further lowering the share of coal in China’s
the military probably only accounts for about 1% primary energy mix to around 57.5% (Kallanish).
of demand for rare earths. Though that percentage
can multiply from year to year with large orders such Natural Gas
as aircraft, the bulk of demand relies much more on
purchases of electronics like phones and computers China's natural gas consumption is expected
as well as cars (Ouyang and Zhong). to increase in 2020 amid the country's efforts
to step up exploration and development of the
China’s threat to cut off rare earth exports to energy source, according to an industry report.
the US early last year as well as its move to become Consumption of natural gas is estimated to expand
entirely self-sufficient have reinforced Washington
notions that the US will be left defenseless without
350
the sector and reduce the environmental effects of critical mineral imports from Asia. The drive to
unsustainable processing methods. The Ministry decouple the US from China has been thrown into
of Industry and Information Technology said it will overdrive by the coronavirus pandemic and new
enact key measures to rectify the rare-earth market calls from hawks in Washington to take a tougher
order, improve management of the market, create a approach to confronting Beijing’s rise as a global
better business environment, make breakthroughs rival. Lawmakers and Trump administration officials,
in key rare-earth-related technologies and crack starting with the president, are also increasingly
down on violations of laws and regulations. "China's leery of maintaining the kind of deep economic
rare-earth export quota didn't have the desired integration with China that has marked the last two
effect on the importing countries, especially decades (Gramer and Johnson). While the defense
Western countries, because smuggling of rare industry’s demand for rare earths is a much smaller
earths was rampant and some export companies fraction compared to other growing markets, such
falsified customs codes to evade the export quota as electric That being said, the Pentagon plans to
and continued to export them to other countries," award $40 million for rare earth minerals in 2021,
Jin Baisong, a retired researcher at the Chinese but it's uncertain whether that would apply to a
Academy of International Trade and Economic single program or the entire program (Cammarata).
Cooperation, said in an article published on China
Daily's website (Ouyang and Zhong). Oil and Gas
Meanwhile, rising tensions with China and the The growth in both domestic production and
race to repatriate supply chains in the wake of the imports follow the resumption of activities after
COVID-19 pandemic have given fresh impetus to lockdown restrictions were lifted. The Chinese
US efforts to launch a renaissance in rare earths, government has pushed for higher production and
the critical minerals at the heart of high technology, consumption of gas to curb pollution and advance
clean energy, and especially high-end US defense the country’s climate change pledges, moving away
platforms. But it’s not going well, despite a slew from coal. China is poised to surpass Japan as the
of new bills and government initiatives aimed at world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas
rebuilding a rare earth supply chain in the United (LNG) in 2023 (Kallanish). The NEA said it would
States that would, after decades of growing reliance focus on expanding its four key energy production
on China and other foreign suppliers, restore US bases to achieve the goals - one offshore in Bohai
self-reliance in a vital sector (Gramer and Johnson). Bay in northern China, as well as onshore in Sichuan
One of the major problems is the only large-scale province in the southwest, in the Erdos Basin and
producer of separated rare earth compounds in the far western Xinjiang region. It also aims to
outside China is Australia’s Lynas Corp. Ltd. It was push forward development of so-called new energy
awarded Pentagon funding in April 2020 for a - including renewables, fuel ethanol and coal-to-
heavy rare earth separation plant in Texas, while liquids - in order to improve its capability to replace
privately held MP Materials was likewise chosen for conventional hydrocarbons. The annual plan also set
the creation of a processing facility at the United a target of having around 900 gigawatts of installed
States' only operating rare earth mine, Mountain non-fossil fuel power generation capacity in 2020
Pass in California. Despite its strategic importance, and further lowering the share of coal in China’s
the military probably only accounts for about 1% primary energy mix to around 57.5% (Kallanish).
of demand for rare earths. Though that percentage
can multiply from year to year with large orders such Natural Gas
as aircraft, the bulk of demand relies much more on
purchases of electronics like phones and computers China's natural gas consumption is expected
as well as cars (Ouyang and Zhong). to increase in 2020 amid the country's efforts
to step up exploration and development of the
China’s threat to cut off rare earth exports to energy source, according to an industry report.
the US early last year as well as its move to become Consumption of natural gas is estimated to expand
entirely self-sufficient have reinforced Washington
notions that the US will be left defenseless without
350
