稀土是中国在贸易战中的王牌，美国打算如何解决这一问题

Rare Earths Are China’s Trump Card In The trade war — How The U.S. Is Trying To Fix That

稀土是中国在贸易战中的王牌——美国打算如何解决这一问题

Rare earths refer to 17 elements on the periodic table whose atomic structure gives them special magnetic properties. Rare earth magnets power everything from electric vehicles and wind turbines to defense equipment, data centers and high-tech consumer electronics. The problem? The United States depends a great deal on China for these critical materials with China mining around 70% and processing around 90% of rare earths. This has made rare earths the most important bargaining chip in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Now, the U.S. is seeking to develop a domestic supply chain for rare earths. In July, the Department of Defense announced a $400 million investment in U.S. rare earth miner and producer MP Materials. The company owns the only operational rare earth mine in the country. Energy Fuels is also producing neodymium-praseodymium oxde (NdPr) material for use in permanent magnets at its White Mesa mill in Utah. Despite this push, experts say many hurdles remain if the U.S. wants to break its rare earth dependence on China.

稀土指的是元素周期表中的17种元素，其原子结构赋予它们特殊的磁性。稀土磁体为众多产品提供动力，从电动汽车、风力涡轮机，到国防装备、数据中心和高科技消费电子产品，都离不开它。问题在于：美国对这些关键材料的依赖度极高，而中国在稀土领域占据主导地位——全球约70%的稀土开采量和90%的加工量都来自中国。这使得稀土成为中美贸易战中最重要的谈判筹码。

如今，美国正寻求建立本土稀土供应链。7月，美国国防部宣布向美国稀土开采及生产商MP材料公司投资4亿美元，该公司拥有美国唯一一座正在运营的稀土矿。能源燃料公司也在犹他州的怀特梅萨工厂生产钕镨氧化物（NdPr），这种材料用于制造永磁体。

尽管美国积极推进相关举措，但专家表示，若想摆脱对中国稀土的依赖，美国仍面临诸多障碍。

以下是各国网友的评论：

SpeakChinglish

US: I'm going to cut off your AI chips and start a trade war
China: Ok, no more rare earth for you
US: ...huh, I didn't think this through

美国：我要断供你的人工智能芯片，还要打贸易战

中国：行，那稀土也不给你了

美国：……呃，我没料到这一步

richiesd1

Digging is one thing. Processing and refining is something else.

挖矿是一回事，加工提纯是另一回事。

ninersnation3298

those dummies didn't realized those high end chips needed chinese rare earth metals.

那些傻瓜没意识到，高端芯片需要中国的稀土金属。

AbleTradingO1

So do all the high-tech weqpons they need to fight China with

他们用来对付中国的所有高科技武器也一样需要稀土。

cabasadefogo9533

China owns 25000 + patents in processing and refining, achieved over the last 30yrs. Ask Japan, which has been trying to bypass China the last 15yrs, and they are still only partially successful in 2 of the 7 critical minerals and not nearly as pure as the Chinese refining can get. China also have 7 universities graduating several thousand engineers a year who specialize in rare earth. That's what the west is up against. Possible sure, but will take decades and tens of billions in consistent investment, research and development.

过去30年，中国在稀土加工和提纯方面掌握了25000多项专利。问问日本就知道，他们过去15年一直想绕过中国，却只在7种关键矿物中的2种上取得了部分成功，而且纯度远不如中国提炼的。中国还有7所大学，每年培养数千名稀土专业工程师。这就是西方要面对的现实。当然有可能追上，但需要几十年时间，以及数百亿的持续投资和研发。

2ebarman

Meanwhile little over 100m was invested into Estonian neodymium magnet production, and now it's ready to produce 2000 tons of pads annually. Most minerals are sourced locally and refined here, plus there's option to refine imported RRE ore.
It's not that hard really, I'm sure US can do it if they want to. What makes it bit harder is that there's many different processes for extracting different REEs, so building up production capacity is going to cost billions. But in the grand scale of things, its not that much really for having a strategic industry.

爱沙尼亚的钕磁铁生产只投入了1亿多一点，现在已经能每年生产2000吨磁片了。大部分矿物都是本地采购并在这里提纯，还可以选择提纯进口的稀土矿。其实没那么难，我相信美国要是想做也能做到。难点在于提取不同稀土元素有很多不同工艺，所以扩大产能要花几十亿。但从全局来看，为了一个战略性产业，这真不算多。

waldenli9232

The self-proclaimed lord: “We own. You do.”

Also the self-proclaimed lord: “You’re our enemy because you dare to grow stronger than us!”

Again the self-proclaimed lord: “How dare you not sell what you manufacture to us after we treat you as our biggest enemy!”

那个自封的“霸主”说：“我们说了算，你们得听话。”

这个自封的“霸主”又说：“你竟敢变得比我们强，所以你是我们的敌人！”

这个自封的“霸主”还说：“我们把你当成最大的敌人，你竟敢不把自己生产的东西卖给我们！”

Binary84

I just hope the Americans keep the waste in their own land instead of exporting the waste to 3rd world and even develo nations like Plastic waste.

我只希望美国人把废料留在自己国家，别像塑料垃圾那样，出口到第三世界国家甚至发展中国家。

wisdombites3586

Wait - give full picture of the narrative. China put export restrictions of rare earth to US because US put 145% tariff on Chinese imports but US wanted to exempt rare earths only

等等——把来龙去脉说清楚。中国对美国实施稀土出口限制，是因为美国对中国进口商品加征145%的关税，可美国还只想豁免稀土。

tpop3723

Who needs rare earth materials when you’re going back to the Stone Age.

都要退回石器时代了，还需要什么稀土材料。

LesterBanana

Shouldn't the US be happy that China is not dum rare earths? That's rare earths over capacity!

中国不倾销稀土了，美国难道不该高兴吗？这说明稀土产能过剩啊！

pablokleckin5264

Basically, while the U.S. was busy building it's stock market, China was busy playing real '5D' chess, and secured an incredible competitive advantage

说白了，美国忙着搞股市的时候，中国在玩真正的“5D”棋局，牢牢占据了惊人的竞争优势。

tharukajayasinghe7958

Can The U.S. Break China’s Rare Earth Dominance?
Short Answer:Hell No

美国能打破中国在稀土领域的主导地位吗？

做梦！

michaelcheng2331

Indians talking about pollution

印度人在聊污染问题

johntitor414

"lets us force China to go up the value chain and develop their own chip industry worth trillions of dollar, while forcing ourselves go down the value chain and develop our own low value rare earth industry bearly worth billions" - US and their infinite wisdom

“我们强迫中国向价值链上游发展，让他们搞出价值数万亿美元的芯片产业，同时却逼着自己向价值链下游走，去搞价值才几十亿的低附加值稀土产业”——这就是美国的“大智慧”

dnn32

And now they are complaining abt huawei develo chips for the entire chinese market and say "oh we cant let huawei having the entire chinese market for themselves so we will allow nvidia selling as well" meanwhile huawei cant even sell phones and their other products in the u.s

现在他们又抱怨华为为整个中国市场研发芯片，还说“哦，我们不能让华为独占中国市场，所以也允许英伟达卖芯片”，可华为连手机和其他产品都不能在美国卖。

Jamies-gz7ix

People in the know describe the US's efforts in rare earths as akin to a kid starting grade school, desperately trying to catch up with a student about to earn their postgraduate doctorate.

知情人士说，美国在稀土方面的努力，就像一个刚上小学的孩子，拼命想追上一个即将拿到博士学位的学生。

vestasharp6861

Or a kid just learning to run, trying to race against Olympic athletes.

或者说，像一个刚学会跑步的孩子，想和奥运选手赛跑。

lamchan8674

You mean the staple genius didn’t calculate that China has the rare earth card?

你是说，那个所谓的“天才”没算到中国手里有稀土这张牌？

shinji1264

The time to observe that was 2009, not 2025... Its not trumps fault but all the presidence b4 him.

早就该注意到了，那是2009年的事，不是2025年。这不是特朗普的错，是他之前所有总统的错。

hiusdkk

When China implemented control measures on rare earths, German companies were exempted and their rare earth supply was not affected at all. The unlucky ones were American and Japanese companies. This is very strange in itself.

中国实施稀土管控措施时，德国企业获得了豁免，稀土供应一点没受影响。倒霉的是美国和日本企业。这本身就很奇怪。

JetblackCayote

even you level up the production, still you won't compete China pricing

就算你提高产量，价格上还是没法和中国比。

waichui2988

Do not talk about mineral deposits. Tell me about technology. Do you have the technology to process the rare earth metals to the required purity? If you add rare earth elements to an alloy, can you mix it evenly? All that is based on technology. The higher the technological requirement of the product, the higher the technological requirements of its parts.

别扯矿藏。说说技术。你有技术把稀土加工到所需纯度吗？往合金里加稀土元素，能混合均匀吗？这些都得靠技术。产品的技术要求越高，对其零部件的技术要求也就越高。

Dollarrmb-pk6ub

How does an Indian young woman can becomes a professional commentator to rare earth .

一个印度年轻女性怎么就能成稀土领域的专业评论员了。

kltpzyxm_

Exactly she has very limited access to rare earths.

可不是嘛，她能接触到的稀土相关信息少得可怜。

billlau1142

It will take the US billions and several decades.

美国得花几十亿，还要几十年时间。

MGZetta

In a decade when the US finally got its own rare earth supply chain, they gonna cry about Chinese rare earth overcapacity because Chinese would be undercutting American low quality and high price rare earths. Lmao.

十年后，美国终于有了自己的稀土供应链，到时候他们又会哭着说中国稀土产能过剩，因为中国会以更低的价格冲击美国那些质次价高的稀土。笑死。

user-sp1zh1rc6p

Punch punch punch. Ah they punched back. Who would have thought

打打打。哦，人家还手了。谁能想到啊。

Wunderpus-photogenicus

If the California High Speed Railroad project has taken over 20 years and still in its infancy, good luck with the rare earth production project.

加州高铁项目搞了20多年还处在初级阶段，那稀土生产项目祝好运吧。

irritatedanglosaxon1705

if middleeast has OIL, US has stolen gold and OIL, China has rare earth minerals

中东有石油，美国有偷来的黄金和石油，中国有稀土

TheFomes-1129

China's competitive advantage in the rare earth industry isn't just about "having processing capabilities," but rather "having large-scale processing capabilities." Rare earth processing is very costly, making it difficult for smaller companies to afford. China's solution was to establish two large state-owned enterprises, each with an annual processing capacity exceeding 10,000 tons.

中国在稀土行业的竞争优势不止是“有加工能力”，而是“有大规模加工能力”。稀土加工成本很高，小公司根本承担不起。中国的解决办法是成立两家大型国企，每家年加工能力都超过1万吨。

pefsgk5092

Breaking China's monopoly on rare earths? USA can continue to dream on.

打破中国在稀土领域的垄断？美国就继续做梦吧。

ytb3748

Monopoly!! Wow, I mean when has China, ever, asked anyone else not to dig, mine or refine?
China controls Rare Earth market because they have the knowledge and they work hard to apply that knowledge.

垄断！哇，我是说，中国什么时候不让别人挖矿、提炼了？中国能掌控稀土市场，是因为他们有技术，还努力把技术用起来。

nolan485

I hate is that this was a known issue for at least 14 years. The real issues are a lack of National Problem Management & Nat'l Strategic Planning. Our political and economic system fails

我讨厌的是，这事儿至少14年前就已知晓。真正的问题是缺乏国家层面的问题处理和战略规划能力。我们的政治和经济体制不行。

mikep1831

Rare earth refining require long term investment and planning, the US politician can't think beyond 4 years.

稀土提炼需要长期投资和规划，美国政客的眼光超不过4年

KH-vi2mu

You underestimated the chinese. After the United States defeated the Soviet Union, you became arrogant. There is an old Chinese saying that "arrogant soldiers will be defeated." Now you are rea the fruits of your own labor!

你们低估了中国。美国打败苏联后就变得傲慢了。中国有句老话：“骄兵必败。”现在你们是自食其果！

XenglenangUS7197

I have studied China for 7 years. From what I know about them, when they play the rare earth card, they still have at least 4-5 good cards in their hand.

我研究中国7年了。据我所知，他们打出稀土这张牌的时候，手里至少还有四五张好牌。

brian4245

Good luck, we are about 20 years behind China in technology and skilled labor!

祝你好运，我们在技术和熟练劳动力方面比中国落后约20年！

MrAbstractj

It’s not the rare minerals part, it’s all the years of optimizing and efficiency in production and refining. Also, the time it will take to produce the giant machineries that’s needed.

关键不在稀土矿产本身，而在于多年来在生产和提炼方面的优化和效率提升。而且，生产所需的大型机械也需要时间。

lancedao1273

Weapon vs Weapon. National Security vs Nationa lSecurity. CHIP VS Rare earth!! Got a headache

武器对武器。国家安全对国家安全。芯片对稀土！头都大了。

MullahSteinberg

So are we in agreement , china is not copying anybody then ?

这么说，我们达成共识了？中国没抄袭任何人？

hansendsouza6440

Really vague assessment of rare earth almost like a cartoon show

对稀土的评估太模糊了，简直像卡通片。

dfunnyearthlings2863

Short answer is nope, america is too greedy and everything is high profit driven.

简而言之，不能。美国太贪婪，凡事都追求高利润。

mobeyond

rare earth mining and processing, had been extremely environmentally hostile, yes, China had paid a huge price for the dominating position and until today, even that relatively ‘’clean‘’ processing tehnology china had developed, is still quite ‘’dirty‘’. To break that monopoly, USA needs to implement tax reduction plans and loose enviromental regulations, especially for companies that are trying to achieve the goal.
Enviromental concerns and cost, used to be the main reason why China can dominate the industry.
Meanwhile, it is noticeable, China is already implementing regulations to limit export of processing equipment and technology.
This industry itself, used to be a typical example of globalization and now a sample of anti-globalization, we are all witnessing history.

稀土开采和加工对环境危害极大。没错，中国为了占据主导地位付出了巨大代价，直到今天，就算是中国研发的相对“清洁”的加工技术，依然相当“脏”。要打破这种垄断，美国得实施减税计划，放宽环境法规，尤其是针对那些想实现这一目标的公司。环境问题和成本，曾是中国能主导该行业的主要原因。同时，值得注意的是，中国已经在实施限制加工设备和技术出口的法规。这个行业本身，曾是全球化的典型例子，现在成了反全球化的样本，我们都在见证历史。

xyz-gn6xq

Of course US can break Chinese hold on rare earths, but are the Americans willing to put in the work?

美国当然能打破中国对稀土的掌控，但美国人愿意付出努力吗？