China’s Grip on an Obscure Rare Earth Metal Threatens the West’s Militaries

China’s strict controls on the export of heat-resistant magnets made with rare earth minerals have exposed a major vulnerability in the U.S. military supply chain.

Without these magnets, the United States and its allies in Europe will struggle to refill recently depleted inventories of military hardware.

For more than a decade, the United States has failed to develop an alternative to China’s supply of a specific kind of rare earth crucial for the manufacture of magnets for missiles, fighter jets, smart bombs and a lot of other military gear.

Rare earth minerals are a central issue in the trade talks between the United States and China now underway in London.

China produces the entire world’s supply of samarium, a particularly obscure rare earth metal used almost entirely in military applications. Samarium magnets can withstand temperatures hot enough to melt lead without losing their magnetic force. They are essential for withstanding the heat of fast-moving electric motors in cramped spaces like the nose cones of missiles.

On April 4, China halted exports of seven kinds of rare earth metals, as well as magnets made from them. China controls most of the world’s supply of these metals and magnets. China’s Ministry of Commerce declared that these materials had both civilian and military uses, and any further exports would be allowed only with specially issued licenses. The move, according to the ministry, would “safeguard national security” and “fulfill international obligations such as nonproliferation.”