It is reported that at the EU summit held recently, EU President von der Leyen called on the EU to avoid falling into dependence on China, just like getting rid of its dependence on Russian oil and natural gas. Most of the resources such as lithium ore, rare earth , which are crucial to the development of new energy, are in the hands of China, which poses a "threat to European security ". The EU must unite and join forces with its allies, ensures that these resources are in the hands of the West and are developed responsibly by the West.
my country is the world's largest rare earth exporter, but with the rapid development of China in recent years, the United States and Europe have seen China's rapid development, and the West has begun to frequently hype the topic of "rare earth crisis" internationally. Rare earths, as an important strategic resource, play an important role in many fields such as industry, military, and aerospace. However, 98% of the EU's rare earth demand comes from China, but the EU is increasingly looking at China-EU relations from a competitive perspective. If the EU really gives up importing and using China's rare earths, then European companies, including Airbus, will have to stop.
So von der Leyen's remarks are completely fantastic. At present, EU countries are fully trapped in the " energy crisis ". With the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the EU and the United States have launched sanctions on Russia, forcing Russia to interrupt the oil and gas supply to Europe. Under the influence of the inflation crisis, the "energy crisis" in Europe continues to ferment, and governments are facing tremendous pressure.
von der Leyen’s implication is that the EU cannot rely too much on a country in key resource areas as before. If the EU continues to import rare earths from my country on a large scale in the future, once encounters a crisis similar to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the EU will be in an extremely unfavorable passive situation.
However, rare earths and key minerals are crucial to industries such as defense, aerospace and automobiles. The resources mentioned by von der Leyen are "in the hands of the West" which is the logic of robbers. The word "robbers" is directly engraved on the head. The so-called ally of the EU is the United States. Now, , led by the United States, has begun to control lithium ore resources. Last week, Canada asked Chinese companies to withdraw funds from the three lithium ore funds, and it must be the Americans who are doing bad things behind the scenes.
This is a war where gunpowder is invisible. Von der Leyen is the president of the EU, but he is thinking about the United States everywhere. Does it have the final say in China's rare earths? Her appetite is also big enough. It is obviously China's rare earth, but the EU, where she is the president, needs to "manage" mining, refining, processing and recycling.
It is precisely because the United States and European countries are eyeing us that our country has been prepared for a long time. China has always been the largest supplier of rare earths in the EU. The rare earth industry chain is complete and meets 98% of the EU's rare earth import needs. At present, China is vigorously integrating rare earth resources, avoiding vicious domestic competition, and preventing the sale of rare earth resources at a low price. In other words, the EU can no longer buy rare earths at a "bad price", which also makes the United States fight and believes that China's integration of rare earth resources is "intentional targeting", so it continues to make a big fuss about rare earth issues.
And the EU has to face a reality, that is, it has no strength to compete with China. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine lasted for more than 8 months, and Russia is still lively, and the Russian economy or currency ruble was not killed. The EU can't handle even Russia, let alone China.
von der Leyen's stupid remarks are largely in echoing the United States' "decoupling to China" strategy. The EU wants to achieve "decoupling to China" at the rare earth supply chain level. The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel. Recently, German Prime Minister Scholz visited China. He has proved with practical actions that Europe cannot do without China, and China has also signed a large order worth US$17 billion with Airbus.
However, in recent years, the United States, the EU, Japan and other countries have been seeking to achieve "decoupling from China" in the rare earth field, but whether it is looking for alternative markets or establishing a local industrial chain, it is impossible to achieve in a short period of time and effort, and it takes a lot of time and energy. Therefore, it is completely self-deception that senior EU officials are attacking China with tinted glasses.
In fact, there is both competition and cooperation between China and Europe. There is huge room for cooperation between the two sides. There is no need to regard China as a "competitor", because ideological conflicts block the road to cooperation between the two sides is not worth the loss. China respects the EU's pursuit of strategic autonomy, but if the EU insists on following the United States to suppress China, then China will never sit idly by.
