Suddenly, The Chinese Threat to Australia Seems Very Real

[Nom De Plume]

To my way of thinking, in the modern context...
We are children until 12 yrs, youth until we are 25, young adults until we are 35, middle aged until 55 and old age there after...

[Juliar]

The greatest environmental threat facing Humanity comes from the Chinese Communist Party

[youtube]https://twitter.com/i/status/1307476699991470080[/youtube]

It's easy to be a communist in a FREE country. Try being free in a communist country.

[Juliar]

"If the US is able to solve the problems posed by Chinese domination of rare earths, it could provide a model for building greater resilience in American and Western supply chains more generally," writes @KoriSchake. Allies like Australia can play big role.


Ending China’s chokehold on rare-earth minerals. The U.S. and allies can break Beijing’s monopoly on elements vital to electronics and national defense.
Bloomberg Opinion September 18, 2020.



China dominates the global market in rare-earth minerals, producing 70% of the world’s exports. But this isn’t a gift of nature — it’s the result of 15 years of industrial policy. The Chinese government identified a critical economic chokehold, invested in building companies, subsidized production to underprice and ultimately destroy competition, and then constructed a monopoly.

U.S. supply chains — both military and commercial — are almost wholly dependent on China for processed rare earths for our advanced weaponry and microelectronics.

Seventeen elements comprise “rare earths,” with unrecognizable names such as ytterbium (used in TVs, computer screens and cancer drugs) and praseodymium (used in magnets and to strengthen metal for aircraft engines). They are essential to the production of high-tech electronics: rechargeable batteries, computer memory, illuminated screens, medical devices, fluorescent lighting and laser-guided missiles.

China’s approach to rare earths follows the pattern of its dominance of the steel industry, with the same destruction of Western businesses and increased brittleness in supply chains.

Rare earths are an extreme example of Western reliance on Chinese production. Despite the exclusivity conveyed by the term “rare earths,” American dependence on China for their extraction and processing is a straightforward and fixable problem. If, that is, the U.S. brings to it foresight, concerted government effort and sustained Executive Branch attention.

If the U.S. is able to solve the problems posed by Chinese domination of rare earths, it could provide a model for building greater resilience in American and Western supply chains more generally.

Read on here

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/ending-china ... -minerals/

[Juliar]

Now China is using beetles to invade Australia!!



Shock as Chinese pest that could have huge impact on Australia is found hidden in Bunnings furniture
By BRETT LACKEY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA PUBLISHED: 15:37 AEST, 9 September 2020 | UPDATED: 16:56 AEST, 9 September 2020

A burrowing beetle has been found in bamboo products sold at Bunnings stores.
The 'bamboo borer' was a stowaway on cargo shipments from China in 2019.
Discovery follows destructive Khapra beetle being found in cargo from Thailand.

A burrowing beetle known to decimate wood products, including furniture, has been found inside $24 bamboo screens imported from China and sold at Bunnings.

The bamboo screening, sold across Australia under the 'Eden' brand, was found to contain the stowaways by the Northern Territory's Department of Primary Industries and Resources.

The bamboo borer, native to Asia, is one of three beetles that are responsible for 90 per cent of insect damage on bamboo products worldwide, according to experts.


The bamboo borer (pictured), native to Asia, is one of three beetles that are responsible for 90 per cent of insect damage on bamboo products worldwide, according to experts

The department was first alerted in November 2019 by Darwin tradesperson Trevor Young after he noticed the borer holes and dust on bamboo products he bought from his local Bunnings.

Read on here

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... um=twitter

[Juliar]

We're already in Cold War 2. It differs from the first Cold War in that we aren't at risk of literal death, but rather China is attempting to strangle the West's economies. Won't happen though. China is in deep trouble already.

Xi's international interventionism is because he is in trouble domestically.

A bit like starting a war to create national pride.

China's economy is in bad shape, it can't continue its growth without continued govt. support, and the govt. can't continue supporting its economy, as it has done.

Trump, for all his faults, knows this and that's why, on top of Covid, he's pouncing on China, in all manner of ways, including hurting their natural minerals supply chain.