Your editorial “China Sends a Permitting Wake-Up Call” (Aug. 21) states, “A 3 a.m. wake-up call for Washington came last week when China announced export restrictions on antimony, a critical mineral in weapon systems and semiconductors.” Yet China’s move shouldn’t surprise.

With rare earths and critical materials, Beijing has an ace up its sleeve. As Deng Xiaoping stressed in 1992, “The Middle East has oil; China has rare earths.” China intends to use its dominant position in the “3Ms”: mining, metallurgy and materials science. This was made clear in a rhetorical question posed by a 2019 notice published by China’s National Development and Reform Commission: “Will rare earths become China’s counter-weapon against the U.S.’s suppression?”

In contrast, when it comes to critical materials and the 3Ms, the U.S. remains asleep at the wheel.