China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech • Hacker News Board

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#591

Post by lazyeye » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 3:02 AM UTC

foverzar wrote: post #548

kelnos wrote: post #517

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't care what "the US" is in this context. I care about myself and the people close to me. And I don't like what life might look like if China were to become #1 and be able to dictate even more about our lives than it already does. The US and other Western countries are far far far from perfect. They suck in many ways. But I much prefer the West's values over that of the Chinese government's, as flawed as they mi…

> to dictate even more about our lives than it already does What exactly does China dictate about your lives? I see people treat this like a fact, but there doesn't seem to be an incentive for China to instill its "way of life" outside of it, does there? So far this seems like a totally western outlook on external politics.

Ask Hong Kongers

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#592

Post by verdverm » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 3:12 AM UTC

lmm wrote: post #420

verdverm wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia does not see Ukraine as a separate country, yet everyone else does. North & South Korea are still at war, yet they are separate countries. Why should Mainland and Taiwan be any different in the long run? While Taiwan may have historically claimed that it should control the mainland, I don't hear this from them now. I'm sure they would be more than happy to sign an agreement with mainland that recognized them a…

Why can't Spain let the Basques be? Why couldn't the Northern US let the Southern US be? Lots of states don't like the idea of part of them breaking off.

Whataboutism is faux pas on HN. Each situation is different and deserves independent consideration.

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#593

Post by animitronix » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 3:36 AM UTC

Steak all the tech like they steal ours.

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#594

Post by thewileyone » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 4:00 AM UTC

SkyMarshal wrote: post #460

snehk wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason why the US doesn't like China is because the US dislikes the idea of being the #2 economy and losing control. The US has absolutely no "morals" so to say and is allied with/provides literal military support to about 70% of dictatorships[1]. The US simply acts out of national interests, not morals. History proves this. I'm baffled by how many Americans repeat state propaganda points. [1] https://truthout.or…

> The reason why the US doesn't like China is because the US dislikes the idea of being the #2 economy and losing control. This comment gets thrown around a lot but oversimplifies things. First, in the 90s, 2000s, and some of the 2010s ‘the US’ was China’s biggest cheerleader, investor, and supporter. Most US elites knew China would eventually become a bigger economy due to their 4x larger population, and were ok wit…

> a world dominated by Xi Jinping and the CCP

China has made no move to dominate the world as the West has continued to do throughout history. Even the Belt and Road Initiative is a trade initiative to benefit all participating nations. China isn't going to build military bases around the world, or force countries to adopt their political proclivities, unlike the US.

As a communist country, China inherently believes that if all grow rich, all will benefit. This is completely unlike capitalism in which "there can be only one."

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#595

Post by somenameforme » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 4:29 AM UTC

Retric wrote: post #574

Retric wrote: post #555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Annual numbers are irrelevant due to the concept of velocity of money. You can use the same physical 20$ dollar bill to buy a soda several times over a year. You hand it to the 7-11 on Monday, they take it to the bank on Tuesday, the bank puts it into their ATM on Wednesday, you get out of the ATM on Thursday, and then take it back to that same 7-11 on Friday. Digital currency can cycle the same way just faster. Mexi…

PS: The nonsense included in the second half ignores the feedback loops from the balance of trade. Anytime your pet economic theory results in some asset spiraling to infinite value it’s inevitably wrong. There’s always a point where people say no and do something else because they simply can’t spend infinite money on anything. Instead there’s always some factor not included in your model that moderates the impact yo…

No, it doesn't. I'll stop being subtle to make this more clear. When I spoke of the issue being up to "Canada's discretion" what I mean is that Canada, in our hypothetical scenario, obviously cannot let their currency appreciate endlessly. They would take actions to prevent that, because it's obviously self defeating otherwise. This is precisely what has happened in the US. The artificial power the petrodollar granted our currency gave us not only the power but the necessity to start doing things like endlessly printing money, sending much of it abroad, spending trillions of dollars on pointless wars, and more.

Until recent times, keeping inflation up was difficult in spite of all of this - which is why we've had 0 interest rates desperately trying to devalue the currency. The big inflection point was 1971. That was the end of the USD being 'hard backed' (fixed exchange rate) by gold. The 'soft backing' (unfixed exchange rate) of oil would begin in 1974, organized by no less than Kissinger. You can see many of the measures we took here [1]. A critical table [2] that site is missing is the trade deficit.

Ultimately the test for all of this will come imminently. BRICS has been developing a new backed (presumably 'hard backed') currency, set to be announced as early as August of this year. And IMO, BRICS as a whole is making their move at this exact moment precisely because the USD is in a situation where this will have maximum impact. Something to keep your eyes on if you're at all genuinely interested in these things!

[1] - https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/

[2] - https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/trad...

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#596

Post by SV_BubbleTime » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 4:45 AM UTC

vjulian wrote: post #588

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #558

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The US likes dealing with democracies because the US has so much know how in how to influence elections. The government and CIA has a long history of meddling in elections to get the outcome that is most beneficial for the US. Foreign elections only though. They would never steer or nudge the people here that would end up being their supervisors. We know that doesn't happen.

Your comment is sarcasm, right?

Don’t you remember the last election was the “safest and most secure in history”?

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#597

Post by jacquesm » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 5:33 AM UTC

SkyMarshal wrote: post #447

throwawaymaths wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, economic engagement with unfree countries got us south korea, Taiwan, probably more in eastern Europe: Albania comes to mind. Afaict disengagement only worked with south Africa.

There’s roughly three levels free vs unfree: 1. Democratic countries that mostly abide by international law and the rules-based order. 2. Non-democratic countries that also mostly abide by international law and the rules-based order, because they benefit from it more than not doing so. 3. Non-democratic countries that reject international law and the rules-based order. The US trades with #1 and #2, and was hoping to…

2 works for small countries, if countries are large enough they can afford themselves to be a 3, which otherwise is reserved for failed states and outright dictatorships.

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#598

Post by DiogenesKynikos » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 8:38 AM UTC

HyperSane wrote: post #585

DiogenesKynikos wrote: post #575

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "Uyghur genocide" has a death toll of zero, even according to the people calling it a "genocide." Words like "genocide" shouldn't be thrown around in bad faith. I don't know what's more incredible: that anyone actually bought the "genocide" allegations, or how quickly the media has forgotten about it and moved on to the next hot-button China issue, Taiwan.

Modern definition of genocide include intentional destruction of culture, which is exactly what the Chinese are doing.

If you take a word that originally meant the mass murder of an entire ethnic group, and then use it to refer to destruction of culture, you're just trying to confuse people. The whole point of calling it the "Uyghur genocide" is to fool people into thinking that China is carrying out mass murder - which is isn't. The retreat to, "I'm talking about cultural genocide" is a bait-and-switch, used once the original accusation of "genocide" is challenged.

Even the accusations of "destruction of culture" are incredibly fuzzy. I think most people who believe in the "genocide" accusation would be very surprised to learn that the Uyghur language is still extensively taught in schools in Xinjiang, and is, in fact, still the primary language of education for most Uyghur children. They might also be surprised to learn that some of China's most popular celebrities are Uyghurs, and that Uyghur culture is actually pretty popular in China.

The "genocide" accusation is simply made in bad faith. One could actually talk about real political repression in Xinjiang, but that would be much less shocking and sensationalist than making up false accusations of "genocide."

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#599

Post by Symbiote » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 10:35 AM UTC

DiogenesKynikos wrote: post #577

Symbiote wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if China invades Taiwan, it's Americas fault really? Ridiculous.

If the US deliberately takes steps intended to back China into a corner, with the only options being humiliation or war, then yes, it will be the US' fault. The US has to come to grips with the fact that its power is limited, and that it must seek accommodation with other powers. If it doesn't come to this realization, we're all in for a very bad time.

Hitting someone else to avoid humiliation is behaviour that belongs on the elementary school playground.

Making "accommodations" over territory is what started World War 2.

Re: China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

#600

Post by hnfong » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 11:58 AM UTC

lazyeye wrote: post #591

foverzar wrote: post #548

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to dictate even more about our lives than it already does What exactly does China dictate about your lives? I see people treat this like a fact, but there doesn't seem to be an incentive for China to instill its "way of life" outside of it, does there? So far this seems like a totally western outlook on external politics.

Ask Hong Kongers

Are you or the OP in or related to Hong Kong? Because I don’t see how that’s relevant.

(Posted from Hong Kong)