Bloomberg reported that China’s President Xi Jinping visited the JL MAG Rare-Earth Company mine to fuel "speculation that the strategic materials could be weaponized in China’s tit-for-tat with the U.S. on trade."
Rare earth elements are crucial to high-tech devices because of their unique magnetic and lighting properties, such as neodymium used in the commercial-scale wind farm magnets to maximize the efficiency of electric generators to produce current. Newer applications include hybrid electric cars, iPhones and military hardware such as night-vision goggles and guided weapons.