China's Master Plan

Rare-earth metals are the key to 21st Century technology: Without them, we wouldn’t have smartphones, hybrid cars or precision weapons, according to Wired. And China, which mines most of the world’s rare-earth metals, may be starting to catch on to their strategic value. The New York Times reports that China is begining to use its rare earths dominance to dictate the manufacture of products of the future. As this chart from the NYTimes shows, China accounts for the vast majority of the world's production of rare earths, 17 elements which are used in wide variety of products.

More importantly, these metals will drive the technologies and industries of tomorrow. By 2014, demand for rare earth elements will hit 200,000 metric tons, up from just 40,000 in 2004. The particular properties of luminescence, magnetism and conductivity of rare earths have been increasingly harnessed by scientists to create a vast gamut of technologies from fiber-optic cables to advanced X-ray machines; flat television screens to the movable fins on guided missiles; and filters for viruses to navigation systems. They are an integral part of the technologies that politicians are relying on to try to avert the worst effects of global warming. From the generators of wind turbines to catalytic converters, and the batteries on hybrid cars to alloys that dramatically reduce leakage from overhead power cables, rare earths are at the heart of the green revolution

Tags: Economic Planning

Comment on "China's Master Plan"