@hunterboy. You are several years out of date. About 5 years ago China used its monopoly of rare earth element production to try to leverage some kind of controlling position in electronics manufacturing. Rare earths aren't ''rare'', just expensive to extract in low concentrations.
Result was it became profitable for non-Chinese operations to extract and market rare earths.
Result: China has lost its monopoly market as clients prefer to pay a premium for reliable non-Chinese (politically motivated) supplies.