Foreign Media: The Dilemma of U.S. Competition in Rare Earths: Talent Shortage May Be Harder to Solve Than Resource Gaps
The greatest obstacle facing the United States' ambition to reduce its reliance on China for rare earth elements and critical minerals may not be a lack of resources or processing capacity, but rather a shortage of skilled personnel. Experts warn that the erosion of industrial technological expertise, weak pipelines for education and talent development, and the absence of a coherent long-term strategy will severely constrain the U.S.'s ability to compete with China in the rare earth industry.
Associate Professor at the Institute for Australian-Chinese Relations, University of Technology Sydney, pointed out: "Rebuilding the rare earth supply chain is fundamentally a human capital challenge."
Observers believe China's dominant position in the rare earth sector stems not only from its massive industrial scale but also from decades of accumulated engineering and technical expertise. In contrast, the U.S. has been in decline in this field for decades, making the path to reconstruction extremely difficult.
Original Source: toutiao.com/article/1862466341601284/
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