Financial Times Analysis: The American military and Europe's green transition depend on rare minerals from China, which controls the majority of global production.

China holds a quasi-monopoly on rare earths essential for Western industry and the American military, thus influencing trade relations with the USA. Following trade tensions, Beijing imposed export restrictions, affecting automotive and military production. Although the West recognizes the danger of this dependency, efforts to reduce it are slow. The EU, which will implement a law to reduce dependence on Chinese minerals, faces ecological and logistical challenges, needing time to develop its internal extraction and processing capabilities.