Central Asia Seen as Key to Breaking China's Rare Earth Monopoly

Workers at Kazakhstan's uranium producer Kazatomprom look at the yellowcake at the mining facility in the southern part the country on April 22, 2022. (Kazatomprom) A uranium mining site in Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan, April 22, 2022. (Kazatomprom) FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping (center) poses for photos along with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan during the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, China May 19, 2023.

U.S. officials hoping to break China's near monopoly on the production of rare earth elements needed for many cutting-edge technologies should engage the governments of Central Asia to develop high concentrations of REEs found in the region, says a new report.