You've pretty much answered your own question there dwuuuu....

You've pretty much answered your own question there dwuuuu. China invested in developing the industry and the rest of the world was content to benefit from the dirty work being done elsewhere. China therefore now has a near monopoly (control) of the industry.

However, due to geopolitical and supply chain concerns, the world is no longer quite as content, especially since these elements have become critical inputs to the next phase of human technological advancement, with obvious economic and security implications. And so we see the free world finally starting to 'do something'.