Vũ khí đất hiếm của Trung Quốc

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China’s ambitions to develop a massive rare-earth mine (mỏ đất hiếm khổng lồ) have run into a maelstrom (chỗ nước xoáy, tình trạng hết sức rối loạn) of local politics in a part of the world the U.S. considers vital to its national security interests.

The U.S., China and the European Union have been circling Greenland in recent years as they jockey (lừa bịp, lừa phỉnh, dùng mánh khoé để dành thắng lợi) for influence (gây ảnh hưởng) in a region undergoing transformation as a result of climate change (biến đổi khí hậu). Warming temperatures and melting ice (băng tan) have opened up the possibility of new shipping routes (tuyến đường hàng hải) in the Arctic Sea as well as resource extraction (khai thác tài nguyên).

China’s rare-earths giant Shenghe Resources Holding Co. and an Australian firm were on the cusp of developing a mine along the icebound island’s southern coast when Greenland’s government called a snap election amid mounting controversy over the project’s impact on the environment.

...The election leaves in limbo a project that is part of Beijing’s quest to increase its grip on the world’s rare earths—the raw materials necessary to make the batteries and magnets that power everything from cellphones and electric cars to wind turbines.