European Rearmament Efforts Snuffed By Chinese Control Of Critical Materials Yesterday we reported that, in a tit-for-tat move, China announced it is targeting US rare earths firms in response to a Pentagon list of Chinese firms: this, as Rabobank noted, is largely a symbolic move, but it still underlines the tensions in this area. So does the Nikkei reporting that ‘China minerals control threatens EU rearmament, as bloc seeks new sources’: because, as Rabo’s Michael Every notes, even if you can afford a dagger, you can’t make it without rare earths, and Europe still hasn’t secured enough supply.  Taking a closer look at the report, Nikkei writes that the European Union’s aggressive plans to boost defense capabilities are hampered by China’s export controls and sales restrictions on critical raw materials, with the bloc’s leaders now calling on countries to accelerate the diversification of their supply chains. The European Commission last week said that it will propose a new law that will require companies in the bloc to expand their suppliers to address economic imbalances, although it did not name China. Russia’s war in Ukraine and growing uncertainty over Washington’s security guarantees have pushed governments in Europe to increase military spending and production. But for 17 of the 34 materials classified as critical by the EU, China accounts for at least 70% of global mining or refining, a report published by Teer in May shows. Eight of those 34 materials are subject to Chinese export controls. “China is in the process of pulling the rug out from under Europe’s rearmament efforts,” said Joris Teer, a policy analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), the bloc’s agency for foreign, security and defense policy analysis. “By just deploying this weapon, China has already increased its leverage, signaling both its capacity and willingness to