flâneur

As China tightens its grip on rare earths, can Brazil be an alternative source?

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Hu Anyan, a former courier who wrote a best-selling book about the grueling job of delivering packages, discusses life, technology, and the future of work. Hu Anyan has held 19 jobs in six cities across China — selling bicycles, running a clothing store, working in a bakery, making 3D architectural renderings, doing night shifts at a logistics warehouse, and eventually delivering packages. Hu, 46, wrote about these experiences in a memoir-style book, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing. An avid reader, Hu documents his encounters with abusive managers, irate customers, and sprawling residential complexes in casual language, and with colorful details and a touch of humor. When published in 2023, Hu’s book became a bestseller in China. Readers lapped up anecdotes of the lives of some of the millions of couriers powering the country’s ultra-efficient e-commerce industry, which treats individual laborers as dispensable. Many also related to Hu’s experience with economic uncertainty, dwindling soc

Victor Moriyama/Getty Images By Jorge C. Carrasco 30 October 2025 Earlier this month, China announced new export restrictions on rare earths — critical minerals that are used in semiconductors, smartphones, electric vehicles, and more. The new curbs sparked a race by the U.S. to secure supplies from other countries to avoid disruptions to a wide range of industries. China produces about 70% of the world’s rare earths — a set of 17 metallic elements — and processes nearly 90% of the minerals. The U.S. has signed deals with Australia and several Southeast Asian countries to minimize disruptions

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