It is very easy to blame China on everything, even blaming China for control of rare earths. Is this the result of China being smarter and more strategic in thinking or because the Americans were stupid or too busy starting and fighting wars, wasting manpower and resources to destabilise the world in order to control the world?
There are many factors that brought about this situation not that the Americans were blind or too busy bombing and invading countries and killing people. It is not so simple to say that the Chinaman, the cooks and laundrymen, were much starter than the brainless hillbillies and rednecks and dumb blondes. Of course these are some of the factors that brought about this domineering control of rare earths by China. While the American terrorists were preoccupied with wars, terrorism and genocide, China was trading all over the world and buying up mines for raw material and rare earths. The Americans are so stupid not to know this, and not to do anything about it. Their game plan is to take over the world by force, by military might.
I would just want to add one factor, the Chinese were able to process rare earths cheaper and sell them cheaper to the world. The Americans and the West just cannot compete and got priced out of the rare earth market. The Americans and the West were still thinking they were in the 20th Century when they could control everything and sell everything they want at their exorbitant prices. But China came in and offers everything on the cheap, just as good, equally good or even better at a fraction of the prices the Americans and West have been demanding from the rest of the world.
The EVs is a good example. Without China producing good and technically superior EVs, the Americans and the West would still be bullying the world to buy their obsolete and expensive automobiles, including poor quality EVs. China is telling the world that all goods and services can be had at a fraction of the prices the Americans and the West are demanding.
The Americans and the West cannot process rare earths at the price China is producing and selling to the rest of the world. Without China, the prices of rare earths from American producers would cost a bomb, controlled and monopolised by the Americans and the West, just like data centres, advanced chips, and everything made in America and the West.
The Americans and the West surrendered the rare earth market to China because they just could not compete and unable to control the market. China will do the same to all goods and services to benefit the world world and priced out the Americans and the West. Period.