PLA strike strategies in westpac HIC

Well,China is heavily rely on import of iron ore copper aluminum

Not to mention food such as soybean corn wheat
China has one of largest iron ore reserves in world (over 10% of global total) and also among the top 10 in copper reserves. The fact China imports during peacetime does not imply China does not have sufficient reserves. If you are rich, better to buy resources from others than extract yourselves. Just dont end up like the US with regards to rare earths and completely lose the ability to extract and/or process important strategic minerals.

The single most mineral for modern military production is tungsten. I'll leave it as an exercise for people to find out where the world's tungsten reserves are.
 

tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
Doesn't Vietnam have one of the largest bauxite reserves? I doubt aluminium will be an issue.
Russia has a lot of land to farm soybean, corn, or wheat if China can't produce enough of it.

All can go via land routes.

Are you suggesting that China should invade Russia and Vietnam in order to acquire resources ? Because there is no guarantee that they will cooperate with China in such circumstances.

Iron ore and copper are issues.

The Soviet Union had a perennial shortage of copper. For this reason there was a shortage of voice phone service and most lines were cheaper telegraph lines. Most copper is in the Americas. But the thing is fiber optics and aluminium replaced most uses for it. It is less important than it used to be.

Copper usage increases every year. As the progress of electrification continue in China,copper demand will only grow

Iron ore consumption should decrease once urbanization peters out. This happened in the US and Japan for example.

Perhaps,but that means you cannot wage war until Iron ore consumption reduced to certain level
 

tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
China has one of largest iron ore reserves in world (over 10% of global total) and also among the top 10 in copper reserves. The fact China imports during peacetime does not imply China does not have sufficient reserves.

Everybody knows why China relys on iron ore imports despite having large reserves. Because Chinese iron ore are among the lowest grade in the world

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

火狐截图_2025-07-14T13-43-26.419Z.png

If you are rich, better to buy resources from others than extract yourselves.

Very funny. Except China never do that. China always use domestic resources whenever possible

The single most mineral for modern military production is tungsten. I'll leave it as an exercise for people to find out where the world's tungsten reserves are.

What exactly are some military applications of tungsten except APFSDS?And even APFSDS can use depleted uranium instead of tungsten
 

Almond98

New Member
Registered Member
Are you suggesting that China should invade Russia and Vietnam in order to acquire resources ? Because there is no guarantee that they will cooperate with China in such circumstances.
And why you think they will not cooperate china? especially Russia? These 2 country heavily rely on china when it comes to economy. And since the start of Ukraine war Russia has been more dependent on china. If you still think that these 2 country will not cooperate if a war started then we can say same for other countries. Do we have guarantee that other country will follow america order? What if phillipines decided not to cooperate america. And worst case scenario what if Japan decided not to participate in the war?
 
Everybody knows why China relys on iron ore imports despite having large reserves. Because Chinese iron ore are among the lowest grade in the world
Low quality iron ore can be refined/upgraded. It adds to the total cost of processing the iron, which would be a minor issue in wartime.
Very funny. Except China never do that. China always use domestic resources whenever possible
Even in rare earths, China is a major importer. And China has the largest reserves of rare earths in the world. And this is the case for most of the critical industrial and military minerals, not just iron or rare earths.
What exactly are some military applications of tungsten except APFSDS?And even APFSDS can use depleted uranium instead of tungsten
Missiles and rockets. Hypersonic weapons. Artillery. Vehicle armor. Jet engine nozzles and other aircraft parts. Nuclear reactors.
 

tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
Low quality iron ore can be refined/upgraded. It adds to the total cost of processing the iron, which would be a minor issue in wartime.

That would take decades

Even in rare earths, China is a major importer. And China has the largest reserves of rare earths in the world. And this is the case for most of the critical industrial and military minerals, not just iron or rare earths.

China is selling rare earths which is mined within China to the globe,not exactly something you would do if the goal is to preserve the resources

Missiles and rockets. Hypersonic weapons. Artillery. Vehicle armor. Jet engine nozzles and other aircraft parts. Nuclear reactors.

No missiles Hypersonic weapons Jet engine nozzles etc,use tungsten
 

tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
But you also fail to understand, those factories need some raw materials which China has to obtain from another countries. Right now US is very active in cutting down those routes, and what about China? stay like a turtle? You don't understand at all about the importance of the Pacific ocean to China.

I agree. No country in the world is self-sufficient in everything,stay in homeland and take defensive position is a dead end for China. The only way to win the war against the US,is to secure the trade route on high sea
 
That would take decades
No. Ore just needs to undergo additional refinement to remove impurities. Its basic science.

China is selling rare earths which is mined within China to the globe,not exactly something you would do if the goal is to preserve the resources
The point is importing minerals does not imply China does not have sufficient domestic mineral reserves.

No missiles Hypersonic weapons Jet engine nozzles etc,use tungsten
Wrong.

I agree. No country in the world is self-sufficient in everything,stay in homeland and take defensive position is a dead end for China. The only way to win the war against the US,is to secure the trade route on high sea
China is connected by land to Eurasia. The largest landmass on earth. It can trade with Russia and Central Asia as well as most of Southeast Asia without needing to secure sea routes.

The US, on the other hand, is heavily dependent on China for production of most refined metals. The US can neither mine nor refine enough minerals for its its own consumption. Not just rare earths. So in a conflict, China does not even need to choke off all US trade. It just needs to stop exporting.
 
Last edited:

CMP

Senior Member
Registered Member
No. Ore just needs to undergo additional refinement to remove impurities. Its basic science.


The point is importing minerals does not imply China does not have sufficient domestic mineral reserves.


Wrong.


China is connected by land to Eurasia. The largest landmass on earth. It can trade with Russia and Central Asia as well as most of Southeast Asia without needing to secure sea routes.

The US, on the other hand, is heavily dependent on China for production of most refined metals. The US can neither mine nor refine enough minerals for its its own consumption. Not just rare earths. So in a conflict, China does not even need to choke off all US trade. It just needs to stop exporting.
We can all expect US (both directly and through its vassals) will be building up as large of rare earth magnet reserves as possible. And so far it appears that Chinese suppliers are all too willing to break laws to export triple the 2024 quantities.
 
Top