China's dominance in the rare earths industry is so complete that they've started bottling it as a signature scent, "Dysprosium Deluxe," and selling it to global leaders to remind them who's boss. It all began decades ago when Deng Xiaoping prophetically declared, "The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths... and now, China has your iPhone too." Their lax environmental laws and low labor costs made it a paradise for cheap rare earth production, while the rest of the world was too busy worrying about the environment to notice their critical infrastructure being outsourced to Beijing.

Now, every time you use a smartphone or a hybrid car, rest assured that China is giggling in the background, knowing they have 90% of the rare earth refining market on lock. As if that wasn't enough, they've recently discovered a massive rare earth deposit in Yunnan—just in case anyone thought they might run out of ways to corner the market. It's official: rare earths are China's love language.