美国最近联合了八个国家，签署了一份关于稀土供应链的协议。这一行动相当具有攻击性。参与的国家包括美日韩、新加坡、澳大利亚、以色列、英国、 荷兰和阿联酋。这个名单一出来，就表明了美国的战略意图：在关键矿产的供应上，他们决定脱离中国，另起炉灶，逐步绕过中国。与此同时，俄罗斯也 发表了声明，直指日本。美国在建立新的局面，而俄罗斯则开始警告日本。这场博弈，充满了敌意和复杂的政治算计。今天，我们就来分析这场棋局，看 看其中的玄机。 美国的算盘：不是结盟，而是捆绑 我们先看看美国挑选的这八个国家，它们的选择并非随意，而是深思熟虑的。澳大利亚和阿联酋在其 中扮演了重要角色。澳大利亚拥有丰富的矿产资源，特别是稀土和锂，是西方阵营中最希望培养的替代原料库。而阿联酋，则已经不再仅仅依赖石油出 口。近年来，它大量投资新能源、矿产资源，并在全球金融中起着中转的作用。换句话说，阿联酋不仅是一个资金库，还是一个重要的物流和交易中心。 接着看日本和韩国，它们是技术工匠，负责稀土深加工、制造高端磁材以及半导体材料等关键技术领域。虽然它们有技术优势，但也有一个隐忧，那就 是，很多原料仍然需要依赖中国。如果中国断供，这两国的产业链就会受到极大的影 ...

Core Viewpoint - The establishment of a rare earth supply chain by the US, Japan, Australia, and South Korea aims to challenge China's dominant position in the rare earth market, which is characterized by China's near-monopoly on critical minerals [1][5]. Group 1: Rare Earth Supply Chain Development - The four countries signed a memorandum to collaborate in breaking China's near-monopoly in the rare earth sector, which is crucial for various technologies [1]. - A leaked document from the White House identified 35 minerals as "critical," with all important rare earth elements included, highlighting China's significant role in the global supply chain [1]. Group 2: China's Response and Production Control - In response to the memorandum, China's Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a 7.2% increase in the total control indicators for rare earth mining and separation for 2024, marking the largest annual quota increase in 29 years [1]. - Historically, annual quota increases have been around 10%, indicating a strategic move to consolidate China's dominance in the rare earth market [1]. Group 3: Challenges Faced by Allies - Australia's Lynas Corporation faces ongoing environmental issues and lacks key technology patents, which hampers its ability to compete with China [3]. - The US's Mountain Pass mine primarily relies on shipping rare earth concentrates to China for processing, with domestic processing costs being over twice that of Chinese companies [3]. Group 4: Technological and Economic Barriers - China holds the majority of advanced rare earth separation and purification patents, creating significant barriers for Western companies attempting to process rare earths independently [3][5]. - Approximately 97% of global rare earth refining capacity is located in China, meaning that even if Australia increases its mining output, most of the extracted materials will still need to be processed in China [3]. Group 5: Strategic Implications - China's ability to control production quotas and its recent termination of special export management clauses from its WTO accession agreement enhance its leverage in the global rare earth market [5]. - The complete supply chain from mining to magnet production gives China a competitive edge, with production costs for key rare earth materials being 30%-40% lower than those of competitors [5][7]. - Establishing a comparable rare earth refining capacity in the West could take over 15 years and require substantial investment, further solidifying China's strategic advantage [5].