The chairman of French automaker Renault is very concerned about the risk of China cutting off supplies of rare earths. According to Jean-Dominique Senard, Europe is not sufficiently aware of these risks and it is an important strategic issue.
Senard referred to reports earlier this week about Chinese export restrictions on key products gallium and germanium. These metals are crucial for making computer chips, among other things. With this move, China is escalating its tech trade war with the West. The country is one of the largest producers of rare metals.
The Renault chairman told a conference in Aix-en-Provence that China could go even further with export restrictions that would suddenly create a huge problem for Europe. He says he wakes him up at night too. Senard believes that the European Union has not sufficiently assessed the extent of its dependence on Chinese earth metals. Senard said there may even be some kind of war over those rare metals in the future.
Source: BNR
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