China could leverage its dominance in rare earth elements and its strength in pharmaceuticals.
A wheel loader on a road near a toxic lake surrounded by rare earth refineries near the inner Mongolian city of Baotou, China, on Aug. 19, 2012. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
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Commentary
Beijing appears to have prepared two trump cards for the upcoming rounds in its trade war with Washington. One is China’s command of much of the world’s supply of refined rare earth elements. The other is its powerful position in global pharmaceutical supplies.
Milton Ezrati is a contributing editor at The National Interest, an affiliate of the Center for the Study of Human Capital at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and chief economist for Vested, a New York-based communications firm. Before joining Vested, he served as chief market strategist and economist for Lord, Abbett & Co. He also writes frequently for City Journal and blogs regularly for Forbes. His latest book is “Thirty Tomorrows: The Next Three Decades of Globalization, Demographics, and How We Will Live.”
