CHINA US Focus - Perspectives shaping the world's most important bilateral relationship

Even as the U.S. mounts a legal challenge to China's stranglehold on the global market for a class of key minerals, the U.S. Defense Department is playing down the impact of Chinese export limits on the U.S. military.

 

The minerals, known as rare earths, are critical to military applications including smart bombs, laser guidance systems and night-vision equipment, but in a new report the Defense Department said such uses represent only a "small fraction" of U.S. demand—and that military needs can largely be met domestically.