China’s recent aggressive power plays on the world stage ahead of the next G20 meeting have been dominating the news.  The dispute with Japan over an arrested fisherman and some uninhabited rocks unveiled a bold new level of rhetoric, while Chinese authorities have lobbed accusations against the United States over the “currency war,” which according to the state press reveals Washington’s “desire to promote the redistribution of global wealth to its own advantage.” 

However, the move that has really raised some eyebrows was the decision by Beijing to place an embargo on exports of rare earth metals to a number of crucial markets, including the United States and Japan.  Daniel McGroarty, a Washington consultant, describes China’s move as a “test fire” of its resource weapon.  Steve LeVine writes, “Beijing is telling companies in the rest of the world the same thing: You could be next.”  Paul Krugman, who is as shocked as I am by the very confused and cavalier response to the actions of the Chinese, pointed out the following with regard to the international system: