Rare Earth Patents Disparity Gives an Insight into China-US Confrontation

The number of rare earth patents between China and US is very different as of the end of October 2018. Some industry insiders pointed out that China may use its technology to form a greater competitive advantage in China-US confrontation in the future. The US government has been accused of lacking industry investment in the past.

Mining rare resources often require a huge environmental cost. Visual China Group (VCG) according to Hong Kong's " South China Morning Post " reported on July 20, as of October 2018, China's number of patent applications in rare earth industry reached 25,911 items, while the United States only 9,810 in the same period, According to industry insiders, although they have been proposing to the US government to increase investment in its industry to get rid of dependence on China, this proposal has not received enough attention. In the future, China will be able to take advantage of these technologies and has a greater competitive advantage in China-US confrontation.

According to the data released by ThREE Consulting, a US-based consulting company in Missouri. James Kennedy, the founder of the company said that China currently holds more than 80% resources, and its advantage in the number of patents will enhance China's future movement on pricing this resource, which creates a greater competitive advantage for China. In the past, the company has been urging US government to increase investment in the industry and advocate the establishment of a government-led industry organization, to form a relatively complete supply chain of rare earth industry and get rid of dependence on China. However, these proposals have not received enough attention from US government.

The Strategic Materials Advisory Council, another industry lobbying agency based in Washington, DC, has been advising the US government to nurture a domestic industry supply chain after China banned exports to Japan in 2010, because of the territorial dispute between China and Japan at that time. while this proposal also failed to attract the attention of the US government.

Besides, according to the latest statistics released by Association of China Rare Earth Industry, after the latest round of tariff measures in the US came into effect, China’s rare earth products exported to the US now face a 38% tariff rate and reflect the active trading rate of the global market. The Price Index also fell by 5.5% in the most recent month. According to information, the US military is currently paying close attention to global rare elements production and requires all suppliers to explain their plans to the military before the end of this month to ensure US will not face risks of the supply in the future.

Although there is not enough information to describe China's specific advantages in patents technologies, some industry insiders believe that these technologies have helped China gain competition in the China-US confrontation. and they will also help to form a more complete supply chain.

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