The next battle in the US-China trade war could very well center on rare earth minerals that are vital to the production of smartphones, electric car motors, refrigerators, computers and jet engines. 

                                               Co-founders of UMC

China has the bulk of these critical elements globally and could ban exports to the U.S. if frictions worsen. The result would be a major blow to the U.S., which depends mainly on China for producing rare earth magnets.

But don't discount American ingenuity and knowhow. I recently toured a high-tech manufacturer in central Texas, Urban Mining Company, has a pawn to play. It's developed groundbreaking technology to cost effectively recycle rare earth magnets from discarded hard disk drives or motors. It then reprocesses them into high performance magnets that are critical components used for industrial, automotive, clean energy, and military defense.  Read my Forbes  column. 

Trending: China's Social Commerce Startup

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If you're interested in e-commerce, pay attention to Pinduoduo --described as a Chinese fusion of Costco and Disneyland . 

The U.S. has nothing like Chinese social commerce app Pinduoduo. It's most similar to Groupon, but a lot more functional - like many mobile apps that've popped up in China over the past few years. Its business model could spread to the West and even eventually disrupt Amazon, Instagram and Pinterest.

the app has caught on among bargain hunters -especially in China's aspiring middle class-and is fun to use.

Read my article, based on my book
Tech Titans of China, at  Techonomy. 

China's Herd of Unicorns

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At least 200 Chinese startups have valuations of $1 billion or more, and many are preparing to go global. 

This article cites my new book, Tech Titans of China, 

and content about facial recognition startup SenseTime, the world's most valuable emerging company in the AI realm.   Read   Strategy & Business