America Can Break China’s Choke Hold on Critical Minerals

China has spent decades building dominance across critical industries, and it is now leveraging its control of rare-earth and other critical minerals to strengthen its economic and geopolitical influence. As the U.S. and its allies work to reduce dependence on Beijing, new investments in domestic refining technologies and public-private partnerships aim to create cleaner, lower-cost, China-free supply chains for the strategic materials essential to defense, semiconductors, AI, and advanced manufacturing.