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The US has hit China where it hurts by going after its telecom champion Huawei, but Beijing's control of the global supply of rare earths used in smartphones and electric cars gives it a powerful weapon in their escalating tech war.
A seemingly routine visit by President Xi Jinping to a Chinese rare earths company this week is being widely read as an obvious threat that Beijing is standing ready for action.
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However, analysts say China appears apprehensive to target the minerals just yet, possibly fearful of shooting itself in the foot by hastening a global search for alternative supplies of the commodities.
Better buy your new devices now...
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Fears Rise China Could Weaponise Rare Earths In US Tech War
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There is a secret person undamaged within every individual.
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(Score: 2) by CZB on Thursday May 23 2019, @04:14AM (1 child)
Worse case, the US will just have to learn to recycle, and make products that last longer.
There's no hardware reason a cell phone with a replaceable battery can't last 10 years if the software ecosystem had a better business model.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Rupert Pupnick on Thursday May 23 2019, @12:55PM
You mean hardware will be less likely to be a disposable commodity, and as a result there will be less incentives for businesses to release software that obsoletes old hardware revisions? Horrors!