Xiamen fujian

China is exploring limiting the export of rare earth minerals that are crucial for the manufacture of American F-35 fighter jets and other sophisticated weaponry, according to people involved in a government consultation. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last month proposed draft controls on the production and export of 17 rare earth minerals in China, which controls about 80 percent of global supply. Industry executives said government officials had asked them how badly companies in the US and Europe, including defense contractors, would be affected if China restricted rare earth exports during a bilateral dispute. “The government wants to know if the US may have trouble making F-35 fighter jets if China imposes an export ban,” said a Chinese government adviser who asked not to be identified. Industry executives added that Beijing wanted to better understand how quickly the US could secure alternative sources of rare earths and increase its own production … [Read more...] about China targets rare earth export curbs to hobble US defense industry

By Dennis Normile Apr. 28, 2021 , 11:55 AM The journal Ecosystem Health and Sustainability ( EHS ) has an enviable roster of high-profile scientists on its editorial board , including noted biologist Paul Ehrlich, an emeritus professor at Stanford University, and Jerry Franklin, an ecosystem analyst at University of Washington, Seattle. There’s only one problem: Many board members are no longer involved with EHS —if they ever were. “I can remember no contact with the journal for years, if ever,” Ehrlich says. “I should not be appearing as associated with the journal,” Franklin adds. Their names ended up on the journal’s masthead, along with many others, when the Ecological Society of America (ESA) and the Ecological Society of China (ESC) jointly launched EHS 6 years ago. But that collaboration has ended, and several scientists contacted by Science were unaware EHS still bills them as “international advisors” or “subject editors.” Such padding can make a … [Read more...] about Big-name scientists surprised to find themselves on journal board