China's rare earths: Geopolitical leverage or a security measure?

“The Middle East has oil, and China has rare earths”, said a prominent revolutionary Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1992, during a visit to Inner Mongolia.China’s new sweeping controls on rare earth magnet export are being largely perceived in the West as a weapon to leverage its geopolitical strategy. Its singular aim, as argued by the media and politicians, is to enable China to assert power and to dethrone and replace the United States (US) as the world’s dominant power. China views it differently: the trade issue is seen as a safeguard against threats to national security and interests.