Jon Emont

China has begun choking off exports of rare earths and rare-earth magnets to Japan, a potential blow to Japanese companies that use them to produce components for global chip makers, car companies and defense firms. The move is the latest by Beijing to pu... See more

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak, second from right, left court after his verdict in the 1MDB trial on Friday.

Malaysia’s High Court sentenced former Prime Minister Najib Razak to 15 years in prison after convicting him on 25 charges of money laundering and abuse of power connected to the looting of the 1MDB sovereign-wealth fund, one of the largest financial crim... See more

Chinese rare-earth magnet companies are finding workarounds to their government’s onerous export restrictions, as they seek to keep sales flowing to Western buyers without falling afoul of Chinese authorities. The companies are tweaking magnet formulas to... See more

アフリカでの鉱山開発事業は長年、レアアース（希土類）を巡る西側諸国の中国依存からの脱却を後押しする可能性があった。数週間前、そうした事業の一つが中国の手に落ちた。 オーストラリアの鉱山会社ピーク・レアアースが、中国を除外したレアアース鉱物の供給網構築に失敗した経緯は、中国がいかに重要鉱物の世界的供給を支配するに至ったかを知るヒントになる。中国政府は今やこの地位を巧みに生かし、地政学的優位を得ようとしている。中国は貿易戦争においてドナルド・トランプ米大統領から重要な譲歩を引き出すため、レアアース供給を一時停... See more