沙特明明没矿，仍联合美国打造稀土工厂！对中国有何影响？

Core Viewpoint - The agreement between Saudi Arabia and the United States involves the provision of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and collaboration to establish a rare earth factory, positioning Saudi Arabia as the second country in the Middle East to possess stealth fifth-generation aircraft after Israel [1] Group 1: Investment and Economic Implications - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has committed to investing $1 trillion in the United States [1] - The establishment of a rare earth factory in Saudi Arabia aims to reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese rare earths, despite Saudi Arabia lacking both rare earth reserves and extraction technology [1][3] Group 2: Resource Acquisition - Although Saudi Arabia does not have domestic rare earth mines, it can source raw materials from the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in the U.S., which is controlled by Mountain Pass Materials Company, with the U.S. Department of Defense as a major shareholder [3] - Additionally, Saudi Arabia can import rare earth ores from Turkey, which claims to have approximately 700 million tons of rare earth ore reserves [3] Group 3: Cost and Environmental Advantages - Saudi Arabia benefits from abundant and inexpensive electricity, with costs as low as $0.01 per kilowatt-hour, significantly lower than the U.S. rate of over $0.08 [5][6] - The country's lenient environmental policies allow for the direct discharge of pollutants into the sea, minimizing environmental costs associated with rare earth processing [6] Group 4: Technological Support - Saudi Arabia can receive technological support from the U.S. and Japan, both of which have expertise in rare earth extraction [6] - However, the U.S. lacks sufficient capabilities in heavy rare earth extraction, and Japan's technology is still in experimental stages, which may limit the effectiveness of the support [6] Group 5: Strategic Considerations - The collaboration between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in establishing a rare earth factory appears promising based on financial backing, policy incentives, and technological support [8] - The impact on China's dominance in the rare earth market will depend on the timeline for technological breakthroughs in rare earth extraction by the U.S. and Japan [8]