China plans to ban exports of rare earth magnet tech

Post by BurningFrog » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:24 AM UTC

teh_klev wrote: post #368

Retric wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If by we you mean the US then we don’t. The US has effectively zero direct dependence on middle eastern oil due to domestic production and transportation costs. Canada is much closer and has a lot of oil. Where it matters is they can impact the global prices and thus what people pay at the pump. Though the actual profits from such spikes in American gas prices end up going to suppliers in America or Canada.

> The US has effectively zero direct dependence on middle eastern oil due to domestic production and transportation costs For now and whilst those extraction costs are cheaper domestically. The US needs the Saudis as a backstop and for infill of the types of crude oils the North American continent doesn't have access to or is in limited supply. They're also a handy client state to do the US's dirty work in the Middle…

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:29 AM UTC

kemiller wrote: post #289

cpursley wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree! I just ordered a custom made guitar ("NK headless guitars" on aliexpress for those who are interested). While's there's a bit of a language barrier, there's no way I could get close to the level of customer support and quality for the price ($500). You can't even start a conversation with a US/EU company for less than $2000k USD for a custom guitar build. This Chinese company started off cloning a well known b…

Not anti-China, anti-CCP. China has an amazing culture with deep history and they have shown themselves to be astounding competent. But autocratic systems are self-defeating. When leadership is sound, it seems like a great idea. But because power is absolute it just takes one wrong turn to wreck everything, which is what is happening now. Under Hu, Chinas ascendancy seemed inevitable. Not anymore.

Post by petre » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:30 AM UTC

sinoue wrote: post #293

humanistbot wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> non-democratic country Just because a country is a democracy does not mean it will be a reliable trading partner. Democracies can easily swing from free market to protectionist trade policies -- and back. Outsourcing a very large fraction of all manufacturing for half the world to any single country is an incredibly risky idea.

Democracies aren’t beholden to the ego of an authoritarian. Free trade for free countries, and a tyrant tax for authoritarian regimes should be the norm if we want human centered capitalism. https://freedomhouse.org/explore-the-map?type=fiw&year=2023

Post by adastra22 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:31 AM UTC

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #273

Symbiote wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

While I don’t think America would be to blame for a war started by China, as an outsider, I think it has to be noted that America under Biden has been diplomatically rather aggressive and variably trustworthy. It’s fairly obvious than the whole alliance of democracies against authoritarianism is a paper thin cover for "countries which serve the US interests" and both include countries which don’t promote liberal valu…

Post by adastra22 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:35 AM UTC

lenkite wrote: post #101

sohex wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does China actually stand to gain by invading Taiwan? Any kind of real analysis based in anything other than nationalistic fervor or fear mongering seems to indicate that they're better served by the status quo.

They have always considered Taiwan part of China. The US even agreed and signed a treaty regarding that. The United States' One-China policy was first stated in the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972: "the United States acknowledges that Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. Since then, the US devolved first to strategic ambiguity and then recently to…