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The State Department has told Fox News Digital it is working to reduce the “national security” threat to the U.S. from China’s domination of the rare earth minerals market, with new signs that Africa can assist Washington in breaking Beijing’s stranglehold on this vital sector.

The 17 rare earth elements (REE) are metals “critical for both human and national security,” the Brookings Institution wrote in 2022, adding, “They are used in electronics (computers, televisions and smartphones), in renewable energy technology (wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries), and in national defense (jet engines, missile guidance and defense systems, satellites, GPS equipment and more).”

China is reported by Brookings to be responsible for

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