Geopolitics and critical resource industrial chain restructuring: a study of rare earth minerals and materials.

Clean energy transformation in major powers, especially the rapidly expanding electric vehicle and wind power industries, has sparked an increasing demand for strategic resources such as rare earths (RE). The RE industrial chain has become a focal area of geopolitical competition between China and the United States. This paper utilizes theories and methods from law and political economics, employing the classic paradigm of global governance, to examine the underlying motivations and geopolitical impacts of the United States in promoting the restructuring of the global rare earth industrial chain. Taking into account the two major characteristics of the U.S.' geopolitical strategy, namely 'controlling key industrial chains' and 'containing China with allies,' this paper reveals the underlying logic and strategic responses of significant political and economic relationships in the ongoing geopolitical competition. These relationships include the connection between the decoupling of the RE industrial chain and reconstruction of the global 'dual chain' pattern, the enactment of the 'three major acts' by the U.S., and the dominance of the global clean energy industry system, as well as the game between China and the United States as major powers and Japan's industrial security. The results show that: (1) In terms of controlling key industrial chains, the technological 'de-rare earth' initiatives of downstream enterprises are reinforcing the 'de-sinicization' strategic orientation of western governments, and vice versa. This joint effort is promoting the formation of a global strategic resource 'dual chain' pattern. (2) In terms of containing China with allies, the United States requires that Japan and other allied countries share the responsibility in geopolitical competition with China. Japan, driven by its own interests, has been deeply involved in the restructuring of the global RE industrial chain, shifting from a high dependence on Chinese RE imports to a deep participation in a new global RE industrial chain led by the U.S. (3) The promulgation of the 'three major acts' by the U S. is a strong proof of its consistent use of domestic laws to shape geopolitical relations. The underlying motivation behind this is to reshape the strategic resource industrial chain and gain control of the global clean energy transformation. In the face of escalating strategic resource competition and based upon the 'dual circulation' new development pattern, China should, on the one hand, leverage its resources and production capacity advantages in the front and middle streams of the industrial chains, leading the independent extension of the strategic resource industry chain through innovation. On the other hand, China should engage strategically and integrate global key mineral resources, develop effective countermeasures, and continuously enhance the resilience of key industrial chains such as rare earths, so as to improve the level of national strategic resource security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]