China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths

249 Pages·2017·8.69 MB·English

by  Sophia Kalantzakos

China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths

China and the Geopolitics
of Rare Earths
SOPHIA KALANTZAKOS
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Kalantzakos, Sophia, author.
Title: China and the geopolitics of rare earths / Sophia Kalantzakos.
Description: New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, [2018] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017019913 (print) | LCCN 2017022864 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190670948 (Updf) |
ISBN 9780190670955 (Epub) | ISBN 9780190670931 (hardcover : acid- free paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Rare earth industry— Political aspects. | Geopolitics. | Rare earth metals—C hina. |
China— Foreign economic relations.
Classification: LCC HD9539.R32 (ebook) | LCC HD9539.R32 K35 2018 (print) |
DDC 333.8/ 54940951— dc23
LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2017019913
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
To George Karampatzos (1945– 2011)

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction— Rare Earths: A Crisis in the Making 1
1. Resource Competition, Mineral Scarcity, and Economic Statecraft 10
2. What Are Rare Earths? 48
3. Salt and Oil: Strategic Parallels 81
4. How China Came to Dominate the Rare Earth Industry 117
Conclusion— Rare Earths: Paradigms of Connection and Disruption 165
Notes 171
Bibliography 213
Index 223

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a special debt to Jonathan Spence and Paul Kennedy for sparking
my interest in Chinese history and in questions of geopolitics. It would be
hard to imagine more discerning and compelling guides to the complexi-
ties faced by anyone trying to work on these topics. A chance encounter
with Athanasios G. Konstandopoulos first alerted me to the importance
of rare earths in contemporary technological applications, and I have sub-
sequently benefited from many enjoyable discussions. Asteris Huliaras
has been a careful and helpful critic of this book in all its stages, and I
wish to thank him not only for his unstinting encouragement and guid-
ance, but also for his warm friendship. Stephen Holmes, Phillip Mitsis,
Lara Nettelfield, Andreas A. Papandreou, and Dimitri Psaras all offered
helpful criticism and advice, while Vasanth Mohan has been an invalu-
able guide in navigating the complexities of the rare-earth markets. Beth
Daniel Lindsay of the NYU Abu Dhabi Library has been an invaluable
resource, and Otto Kakhidze, my former student, generously assisted in
the preparation of the figures and tables.
A fellowship at the Rachel Carson Center enabled me to do the final
revisions of the manuscript in idyllic conditions, and I am deeply grate-
ful to its directors, Christof Mausch and Helmut Trischler, as well as to
my cohort of fellows, for making my time in Munich so stimulating and
pleasant. Over the years NYU and NYU Abu Dhabi have provided both
time and funds in support of my research, and I am happy to take this
opportunity to thank them.