[nutjob2]

There is a reason China does so well refining metals like lithium and rare earths: it's difficult, resource intensive and polluting. They have about a 80% global share in lithium processing.

That doesn't matter under a communist dictatorship, but in more civilized countries people don't want it in their backyard.

[Sabinus]

Do you want to be reliant on a communist dictatorship for multiple critical inputs to your economy?

[ninalanyon]

There is very little that is communist left in China.