# Why Chinas Rare Earth Dominance Is Facing a New Threat

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/china-economy-with-fexingo-beijing-s-policies-trade-and-asia-pacific-markets-7871760/why-chinas-rare-earth-dominance-is-facing-a-new-threat
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/china-economy-with-fexingo-beijing-s-policies-trade-and-asia-pacific-markets-7871760/why-chinas-rare-earth-dominance-is-facing-a-new-threat.md
Podcast: [China Economy with Fexingo: Beijing's Policies, Trade, and Asia-Pacific Markets](https://stenobird.com/podcast/china-economy-with-fexingo-beijing-s-policies-trade-and-asia-pacific-markets-7871760)
Published: 2026-06-21T06:26:26+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/china-economy/episode-0065.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/china-economy/episode-0065.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/china-economy-with-fexingo-beijing-s-policies-trade-and-asia-pacific-markets-7871760/episodes/why-chinas-rare-earth-dominance-is-facing-a-new-threat
Duration seconds: 433

## Resource

Lucas and Luna examine a surprising development in China's rare earth supply chain: the country's growing reliance on imports of processed rare earth materials from Southeast Asia and Africa. With new refining capacity coming online in Vietnam and Myanmar, China's stranglehold on global rare earth processing is weakening. The episode drills into the numbers: China still controls 90% of refining but imports of rare earth concentrates surged 40% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026. Lucas explains how Beijing is responding — by stockpiling and investing in overseas mines — and what this means for the clean energy transition and defense supply chains. The hosts also discuss the yuan's recent depreciation, which makes Chinese rare earth exports cheaper but import costs higher, creating a strategic dilemma. Featuring data from the latest trade balance figures and the yuan at 6.76 per dollar. #RareEarths #ChinaEconomy #SupplyChain #CleanEnergy #Defense #Yuan #Trade #Vietnam #Myanmar #CriticalMinerals #Mining #StrategicStockpile #Processing #Geopolitics #Economics #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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