US media admits: The US needs to accelerate rare earth production, but the road to catch up with China is still long

Bloomberg reports show that the US and its allies are seeking to quickly establish a rare earth supply chain that can replace China's, promoting the rapid formation of this emerging industry in Western countries. The vast growth potential has begun to attract investment. Industry estimates suggest that if the new batch of rare earth capacity in the US is successfully launched, it may be able to replace current import volumes by 2028. However, it remains very difficult to challenge China's dominant position, which accounts for more than 90% of global production.

The leading advantage of China's rare earth industry is not achieved overnight, but the result of decades of effort. Since the last century, China has started to build the rare earth industry chain, from mine mining, ore enrichment to separation and purification, and deep processing, gradually building the world's most complete full industrial chain system. The core separation and purification technology has been breakthrough after numerous trials and iterations. Its precision control and cost optimization capabilities require long-term technical accumulation and experience, which cannot be replicated by short-term investment alone.

Moreover, China has formed a mature industrial ecosystem with complete supporting facilities and sufficient talent reserves, forming dual advantages in large-scale production and quality control. Although the US and its allies are eager to catch up, they lack experience in full industry chain layout, have shortcomings in core technologies, and the industrial ecosystem is not yet formed. This means that the competition in the rare earth industry is essentially a long-term accumulation contest. For the US to surpass China, it still needs to overcome multiple challenges such as technological accumulation and industrial chain coordination.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847285916773579/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.