The word you are looking for is surplus. China buys raw...

The word you are looking for is surplus. China buys raw materials from Australia, where they are good at digging up rocks, and then uses technology to turn them into goods exported to the rest of the world. Just like how Indonesia had a favorable balance of trade with the Dutch, or Indochina with the French, or India with the British back in the 19th Century. Now it seems that Australia wants to export its ability to dig up rocks after drilling holes in the ground to the US. Maybe it's progress that it also wants to set up a lab in a rented warehouse, like the Canadians have already done. How many lithium labs does America need, anyway? Eventually we will find out. The Chinese have had one in Mexico, a few hundred kilometers south of Tempe, for years.
I have already been to every Australian state and territory except Canberra, and I would rather return to New Zealand before picking that one up. But I think my presence is felt by some anyway.