For those who came in late. China has upped the ante in the trade wars by forbidden the trade of rare earths which are vital compontents for the electronics industry.

But Tong said rare earths were found elsewhere in the world, it was just that no one other than China could be bothered digging them up.

Tong said the United States, once the world’s second largest rare earth producer, now has barely any output. “But if it involves competition between countries, it may induce some countries to re mine rare earths,” he said.

At the 2025 Zero Carbon Sustainability Summit Forum on 15 October, Tong was interviewed before the session about the mainland’s heightened rare earth controls. He repeated that the new measures would not have a direct impact on Pegatron.

He argued that while rare earths are vital to many industries, trade or industrial disruption cannot be blamed on rare earth control alone. He emphasised that over the last century, globalisation has woven interdependence and mutual reliance across sectors and geographies.

Tong drew comparisons with pandemic era export restrictions: India limited wheat, Vietnam restricted rice, Malaysia curbed chicken exports. Each served as a stark reminder that no country or industry can be fully self sufficient.

“There are many things that modern civilisation needs to operate, and no industry or country can be 100 per cent self sufficient,” he said.

Tong cautioned against underestimating the US. He noted that although the US once ranked second globally in rare earth production and Australia maybe third or fourth, US output is now modest. Yet if trade barriers force disruption, nations might be spurred to restart mining operations.

“If the United States is temporarily unable to obtain rare earths produced by the mainland only because of temporary trade inconvenience, so the United States decides to fully engage in full firepower and full production, it may not be impossible,” he said.

Tong pointed to the downsides of rare earth mining: high energy consumption, large land use and pollution.

“So I’m guessing this is also the reason why Australia slowly gave up the first place in rare earths to China,” he said.

He reiterated that though the US once held second place, its current output is relatively small, but when competition kicks in, nations may rekindle mining efforts.