Rare earths are needed for everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles, wind turbines and fighter jets. In this four-part series, we look at the race for these critical minerals, how China has taken a commanding role in the industry and what the US is doing to battle back. Updated: 06 Aug, 2025 South China Morning Post
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Indonesian businesses are raising alarm over a slowdown in manufacturing and domestic consumption even as headline GDP figures show growth accelerating. South-east Asia’s largest economy, a commodities powerhouse, is grappling with waning purchasing power, a shrinking middle class and mass lay-offs in manufacturing at a time when President Donald Trump’s tariffs on US trading partners are increasing global uncertainty. Economists and businesses said that a bullish GDP data release this…
As Beijing gathers public input on China’s next five-year plan – a mission statement for the next half-decade of economic and social policy – how best to bolster domestic consumption has emerged as a topic of considerable debate as the country seeks new avenues for growth amid a murky landscape for global trade. Advertisement One point of contention among scholars and other influential thinkers is whether to set measurable consumption targets, in a similar fashion to other headline benchmarks like gross domestic product growth. Some have called for indicators such…
A China-backed copper mine in Afghanistan is poised to start construction after nearly two decades of delay, but political instability and security issues remain a major concern, an Afghan studies expert has cautioned. Advertisement State-owned China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) recently announced that it was making significant progress toward starting copper extraction this year in the Mes Aynak Mine in central Afghanistan’s Logar province, home to one of the world’s largest untouched copper deposits. According to Afghan media outlet Tolo News, MCC representative Deng Guoping said the company was ready…
When Ming* found a hidden camera in her bedroom, she prayed for a reasonable explanation, wondering whether her boyfriend had placed it there to record memories of their “happy life” together. But hope quickly turned to horror. Ming’s boyfriend had been secretly taking sexually exploitative photos of not just Ming and her female friends, but also of other women in other locations, then using AI technology to generate pornographic images of them. After Ming confronted him, he “begged for mercy” but became angry when she refused to forgive him, Ming…
As trade tensions between Washington and New Delhi escalate, an anticipated high-profile visit of US President Donald Trump to India this fall is now clouded by uncertainty. Advertisement The rift that is testing a relationship between what their diplomats sometimes tout as the world’s oldest and largest democracies is not only weakening bilateral ties, but also casting doubt on the future of a critical Indo-Pacific bloc aimed at countering China’s growing influence in the region. The White House has been pressing India for substantive “deliverables” the “America first” president could…
Rare earths are needed for everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles, wind turbines and fighter jets – and China controls the supply chain. In the second of a four-part series, we look at how China gradually took a commanding role in the rare earth industry, and how the US is now working to strengthen its sources and production. Advertisement Nearly a half-century removed from being the world’s dominant supplier of rare earth elements, California’s Mountain Pass mine is once again being tasked with unearthing a veritable treasure trove of…
The mecca for China’s boom in artificial intelligence is Liangzhu, a leafy suburb of Hangzhou, the tech-heavy capital of Zhejiang province. The Communist Party has long touted Liangzhu’s famous archaeological remains, dating back to 3300BC, as proof of the age of Chinese civilisation. Now Liangzhu, with its myriad AI startups, represents the future. Investors from all over China flock there to meet growing numbers of founders, app engineers and other AI developers and dreamers. It is six months since a barely known AI startup, DeepSeek, caused a huge stir by…
A large protest erupted in the south-western Chinese city of Jiangyou, videos on social media have shown, after the beating of a young girl by three other teenagers caused public outrage. Protests are rare in China, where opposition to the ruling Communist party and anything seen as a threat to civil order is swiftly quashed. But bullying in the country’s ultra-competitive education system has touched a public nerve, with a high-profile killing last year prompting national debate over how the law deals with juvenile offenders. On Monday, police said two…
Even in the face of threats by US President Donald Trump to levy tariffs on countries that import Russian goods, analysts expect that China “will not stop” buying oil from its northern neighbour, given their mutually beneficial relationship of energy cooperation. Advertisement Oil from Russia will continue to flow south over the long run because “China’s strategic goals require a stable and secure supply of critical resources such as oil”, said Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research in Canada. His comments came with Trump sharpening his threat of…