The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that China should remain an important link in the global supply chain for rare-earth products given its technical expertise and competitiveness, according to Neo Performance. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post quotes Neo chief executive officer Rahim Suleman saying, "China will remain, and frankly should remain, the dominant player in the space." The Canadian company has operations in China, as well as elsewhere in Asia, Europe and North America. Mr. Suleman was speaking on the sidelines of a rare-earths conference dominated by discussions of how to build supply chains that do not run through China. The Asian nation's export curbs earlier this year threatened widespread industrial shutdowns and accelerated U.S. efforts to push for domestic production. "When an industry seeks to manage concentration risk, I think that's the right way to think about how the industry can change," he said. "When the industry starts talking about independence from China, frankly we think that's challenging." China has a powerful grip on rare earths, and the West must face the reality that Chinese products are cheaper, and its ability to match specialized customer requirements are formidable.