China - Taiwan - Sanctions

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

By now you might have heard that China is threatening sanctions regarding a US military hardware sale to Taiwan.

My first reaction is this. I would try to use Taiwan as a bargaining chip for Iran. We offer to suspend the sale if China accepts the tougher sanctions on Iran.

My other thought is this. Are Chinese sanctions against US military companies such a bad thing? It would mean less US kit is entering chinese hands and it would mean that these companies would need to find different suppliers if they rely on Chinese materials, maybe they would go to US suppliers? And you know that the US would be forced to respond ####### for tat. Perhaps this is a step towards trade balance?

[lostinblue 1,989]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment...al-exports.html

World faces hi-tech crunch as China eyes ban on rare metal exports

China mines over 95pc of the world’s rare earth minerals, mostly in Inner Mongolia. The move to hoard reserves is the clearest sign to date that the global struggle for diminishing resources is shifting into a new phase. Countries may find it hard to obtain key materials at any price.

New technologies have since increased the value and strategic importance of these metals, but it will take years for fresh supply to come on stream from deposits in Australia, North America, and South Africa. The rare earth family are hard to find, and harder to extract.

Mr Stephens said Arafura’s project in Western Australia produces terbium, which sells for $800,000 a tonne. It is a key ingredient in low-energy light-bulbs. China needs all the terbium it produces as the country switches wholesale from tungsten bulbs to the latest low-wattage bulbs that cut power costs by 40pc.

No replacement has been found for neodymium that enhances the power of magnets at high heat and is crucial for hard-disk drives, wind turbines, and the electric motors of hybrid cars. Each Toyota Prius uses 25 pounds of rare earth elements. Cerium and lanthanum are used in catalytic converters for diesel engines. Europium is used in lasers.

Blackberries, iPods, mobile phones, plams TVs, navigation systems, and air defence missiles all use a sprinkling of rare earth metals. They are used to filter viruses and bacteria from water, and cleaning up Sarin gas and VX nerve agents.

Arafura, Mountain Pass, and Lynas Corp in Australia, will be able to produce some 50,000 tonnes of rare earth metals by the mid-decade but that is not enough to meet surging world demand.

New uses are emerging all the time, and some promise quantum leaps in efficiency. The Tokyo Institute of Technology has made a breakthrough in superconductivity using rare earth metals that lower the friction on power lines and could slash electricity leakage.

The Japanese government has drawn up a “Strategy for Ensuring Stable Supplies of Rare Metals”. It calls for `stockpiling’ and plans for “securing overseas resources’. The West has yet to stir.

Looks like the climate change crowd could get upset with china very soon if they decide to punish the west using rare metals as a focal point.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I have a suspicion that the west has these materials as well but have not bothered to do much exploratory mining because China is already ahead and can do it for cheaper.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Sousuke

[alienlovechild 75]

My first reaction is this. I would try to use Taiwan as a bargaining chip for Iran. We offer to suspend the sale if China accepts the tougher sanctions on Iran.

Sanctions rarely work as there's always a country willing to sell for the right price. The exception to this rule may be Taiwan as few nations can sell the hardware Taiwan needs and most fear China's wrath.