For decades, Western multinationals and tech firms built Malaysia’s export base while China financed its railways, ports, and industrial zones -- a balance Kuala Lumpur managed with unusual ease. Now, rare-earth ambitions are pulling that equilibrium in new directions, intensifying debates at home over control, national interest, and how far neutrality can stretch.

China’s new rare-earth export controls have turned its dominance in the sector into a powerful strategic tool, extending restrictions to technology, equipment, and expertise that tighten global dependence. The move has intensified tensions with the United States and its allies, highlighting how control over critical minerals now defines the balance of economic and geopolitical power.

European Union leaders’ proclamations of supply autonomy sound great under the spotlight, but don’t hold up under the microscope. The truth may be that China already has won the game with its vice-grip on rare metal exports.

Given the fact that most disruptions in the bilateral relationship originate in Washington, it is essential that the Trump administration apply the consensus reached during the call to its future actions.

China’s new export licensing system strengthens its control over key rare earth elements, deepening supply chain risks. Although new processing facilities are emerging abroad, they won’t soon offset China’s dominance, prolonging global uncertainty.