In Depth: Malaysia Becomes a Lynchpin in U.S.-Led Effort to Break China’s Grip on Rare Earths

A temporary truce in the U.S.-China trade war has given both nations crucial time to address vulnerabilities in their respective economic defenses. For China, this means reducing its dependence on Western microchips, while the U.S. seeks to mitigate the strategic threat posed by China’s dominance over global rare earth element (REE) supplies—key inputs for high-tech and defense industries [para. 1][para. 2]. Following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in South Korea on Oct. 30, both sides started easing certain trade barriers. China announced a one-year suspension of export controls for several heavy rare earth elements and advanced lithium batteries, giving the U.S. precious time to develop independent REE supply chains outside China’s sphere [para. 3].

The Trump administration has already accelerated efforts to secure critical minerals, with at least 15 policies, investments, and procurement contracts related to strategic minerals enacted since April 2024 [para. 4]. Citing economic security and international collaboration, Trump detailed new partnerships on Nov. 6 with Central Asian leaders and a broader global strategy to expand American control over mineral supply chains [para. 5]. Notably, in October 2024, the U.S. signed a $8.5 billion critical minerals framework with Australia, and similar agreements soon followed with Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia [para. 6].

Malaysia has emerged as a pivotal hub in these efforts due to its existing infrastructure, including the Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. processing facility—one of the few significant non-Chinese REE plants in the world [para. 7]. Foreign partners, such as South Korean firms, are boosting Malaysia’s potential, further advancing plans to establish a permanent magnet factory in collaboration with Lynas [para. 8]. Malaysia’s own rich but undeveloped rare earth reserves and technological needs incentivize these joint ventures [para. 8].

Rare earths—seventeen metals with unique magnetic and conductive properties—are essential for advanced defense systems (like U.S. fighter jets and submarines) and commercial products such as electric vehicles and fiber-optic networks. While the U.S. Mountain Pass mine supplied 10% of global REEs in 2024, China remains the largest supplier, controlling about 60% of global mining capacity and 90% of REE separation, smelting, and magnet manufacturing [para. 9][para. 10]. The new alliances are designed to link Australia’s substantial ore extraction capabilities, Japan and South Korea’s technological expertise, and Malaysia’s processing infrastructure into a comprehensive, non-Chinese-dominated supply chain [para. 11][para. 12].

Processing rare earths is fraught with environmental challenges—heavy metal contamination and radioactive waste—which led to the historic shutdown of the Mountain Pass mine in 1998 [para. 13]. Lynas shifted major processing to Malaysia in 2012 and, in May 2025, achieved the first commercial production of dysprosium oxide—an important heavy rare earth—outside China, increasing Western leverage [para. 14][para. 15]. A further A$180 million ($116.1 million) investment aims to expand this Malaysian plant to produce other key heavy REEs [para. 16].

Malaysia’s transformation into a rare earths hub accelerated with a $142 million South Korean investment to build a magnet factory adjacent to Lynas’s facility. The country, estimated to hold 16.1 million tons of REE deposits, hopes foreign investment will unlock local production capacities [para. 17][para. 18]. However, technological gaps, slower project timelines, and the risk of shifting U.S. policy after the 2028 election pose major challenges for the sustainability of these alternative supply chains [para. 19][para. 20].