How China Could Shut Down US Weapons | China In Focus

could China shut down American weapons if war broke out night vision goggles communication systems uh um GPS systems uh so anything the military wants to do uh there's a system that has uh Rare Earth components and those Rare Earth components have to come from China it's really a matter of the United States deciding that it has to intervene what do you think let us know down below and subscribe if you haven't already [Music] welcome to China and focus I'm Don ma in for Tiffany Meer could China shut down us defenses in times of War One expert says yes the reason most of America's weapons rely on key components made exclusively in China we unveil the devil in the details a key vulnerability spending almost every Advanced weapon in the American Arsenal it involves two of the US's most powerful weapons the F35 feder jet and the Tomahawk missile they share one thing in common without Rare Earth elements they can't be produced and the world's rare Earths are almost completely controlled by China you know night vision goggles communication systems uh um GPS systems uh so anything the military wants to do uh there is a system that has Rare Earth components and those Rare Earth components have to come from China and if China is not willing to supply them uh then rearming uh and restocking is impossible and Beijing seems to be hinting at just that as tensions between the US and China P up the Chinese regime said it would tighten export controls on Rare Earth an expert told F policy that if the US were to get cut off from Rare Earth supplies it would deal a major blow to the defense industrial base right now there are no easy Alternatives than China so what are rare Earths and why are they so important rare Earths are metals specifically a group of 17 elements on the periodic table they're used in almost all modern technology from iPhones to Tesla Motors to almost every Advanced US military weapon every Virginia class attack submarine uses over 9,000 lbs of rare Earths on top of controlling 70% of the global Rare Earth Supply China also controls the entire supply chain the country makes over 90% of a type of reare Earth magnet one that guides missiles to their targets and helps tanks navigate the battlefield and magnets are used for guidance systems for um smart bombs right they're used for guidance for uh missiles Advanced missile systems they're used for drones in tracking and stabilization they're used on an F35 fighter jet uh rare Earths are used extensively on Advanced systems like nuclear submarines the US is trying to play catchup right now there's only one Rare Earth mine in the US sitting in California's Mojave Desert and it has to ship its rare Earths to China for processing though the company that owns the mindset soon it will be able to refine Rare Earth elements on its own Kennedy noted even though the rare earth Market isn't big but the importance of the applications of rare Earths is like having the world's longest lever right so if I have a little folk room but I have a big lever I can move anything and um you know this is what China's done and um you know you you really have to think about it as a new form of warfare a Warfare where you know the the casualties are economic casualties you know you you're not killing people um you're just you're economically strangling uh your your adversary you know it's quite Humane right if you're not up to the game you lose NTD reached out to the Pentagon but did not hear back before airtime the pentagon's China supply chain problem doesn't stop at rare Earths the communist country also supplies the US military with critical energetic materials used in Munitions a growing number of Chinese companies have made it into the Pentagon Supply base report says the number was 655 as of 2019 and over 400% increase from a decade ago and Ron one of the pentagon's largest defense contractors said it's impossible to decouple from China it has several thousand suppliers there last year the the Pentagon started using artificial intelligence to track whether the raw materials and parts that contractors use come from China what can the US do to wean itself off its Reliance on China we sat down with Rick fiser senior fellow at the international assessment and strategy Center for insight and now with us here is Rick fiser senior fellow at the international assessment and strategy Center so so Rick almost every Advanced weapon that the US Military used relies on rare Earths uh which China has dominance over um what can what can we do about the situation Don thanks for having me China dominates the the market and the processing and the mining of of rare earth metals and materials it's really a matter of the United States deciding that it has to intervene that it has to subsidize uh a number of companies that can begin to erode China's dominance and to begin to assure uh a secure uh uh supply of uh these Rare Earth elements so we it requires an investment in in the whole uh product chain from extraction to processing uh uh and and uh taking these uh materials and forming them into products now if China decided to completely cut off uh rare earth to the US would there be ensuing ramifications in terms of us retaliation uh I I imagine yes I mean the United States has been trying to restrict China's access to uh high-tech uh chip uh computer chip uh uh Manufacturing Technologies and supplies uh very high technology uh computer chips manufactured in the United States and in the west if China China's restriction of access to Rare Earth elements and uh their processing is said by China to be in part a reaction to American uh uh restrictions on uh chip making and uh chip computer chips for China which go directly into satellites uh and uh various weapon systems uh on Earth this uh Dynamic will probably get worse if China uh increases its restrictions on access to Rare Earth elements and their processing uh uh the United States will probably uh impose greater restrictions on China's access uh to chips and such uh and on it will go and uh this this will spread uh to other uh areas of high technology exchange as uh the United States and and China continue their March towards a new Cold War all right thank you very much Rick at the international assessment and strategy Center thank you Don China is getting more rare earth orward from Canada and is coming from a mind that was once celebrated as a symbol of independence from China's supply chain what led to the dramatic shift representatives from Canada the US Australia and Norway announced the launching of the neao Rare Earth mine some two years ago at the time they vowed to quote guarantee a responsibly sourced supply of rare Earth elements raw materials independent of China The highgrade Ore was originally destined for Supply chains in North America and Europe but a new source of investment appears to have influence to change earlier this month Chinese Rare Earth Miner shanu resources made a deal with vital metal the min's owner shanu agreed to buy some of the mines or and invested $4 million us to buy an about 10% share of vital medal the deal set off alarms among Canadian politicians under the Canadian House of Commons the standing committee on industry and Technology passed a motion it urges Canada's minister of Industry to start a National Security review Into the issue but because vital metal is an Australian company and Australian government or already approved the deal the Canadian side may not have much sway over the deal now we turn to Southeast Asia 18 people are dead in Indonesia after a fire broke out in a chinese-owned steel plant at least four of the victims were Chinese workers The Blaze ignited Sunday morning inside a nickel smelting furnace owned by a Chinese company nickel is one of the most important Metals used to produce batteries for electric vehicles and Indonesia is the world's biggest nickel producer the nickel smelter is part of China's belt and Road initiative critics describe the program as a tool Beijing uses to expand its influence and get access to resources overseas Russia is growing its defense ties with China and North Korea Russia's top military officer saying Thursday that it has set up comprehensive defense cooperation with North Korea and that would continue its partnership with China and India contrary to the West attempts to isolate our country in the international Arena the Russian Ministry of Defense continue to increase the pace of interaction with foreign military departments within the framework of military and Military technical cooporation the US has been concerned that North Korea could provide weapons to Russia to help its war in Ukraine South Korean lawmakers said Russia helped pyang launch a spy satellite a month ago China and Russia also held military talks Wednesday vowing to step up strategic IC coordination next we would like to take a moment to thank all of our viewers many of you wrote in to share your best wishes through emails or comments on our YouTube channel Janette McBride wrote thanks for consistently providing the real news it helps a lot and Ted zinder wrote keep up the good work China in focus is approaching its 4year anniversary reporting news from and about China our program wouldn't be possible without your support that's all for today's China INF focus on YouTube we're now sharing a shortened version of our program here after being demonetized for more than two years if You' like to support us consider donating find us at donorbox.org chin in-focus or subscribe to our partner platform Epoch TV where you can watch our full episodes here's what to look out for in our second half Beijing sanctions a US company and two US citizens the move seen as retaliation for sanctions on Chinese companies or forced labor allegations Chinese leader Xi Jinping vows to bring Taiwan under the Communist regime's control this remark comes during a tribute to Maad dong the man who founded the PRC Japan approving a record defense bill for 2024 one big goal speeding up deployments of missile that can hit China and North Korea and a report finds that the Chinese regime tried to meddle in the 2022 elections we welcome a guest who says Beijing will do it even more next year hear what else he has to say about China's influence campaigns in the US thanks for watching China and focus I'm Don ma see you tomorrow