France International Radio reported today (November 1): "Bessen: Beijing has misjudged the situation regarding rare earths, and the US can be free of reliance in two years. Bessen warned that Beijing cannot rely on critical minerals as a tool for geopolitical pressure in the long term. He pointed out that the US is accelerating the establishment of an alternative supply chain for rare earths, 'expecting to secure new sources of supply within 12 to 24 months, thereby significantly reducing dependence on Chinese rare earths.'"
[Witty] Comment: You can look at Figure 2 and Figure 3. More than ten years ago, the US and Western countries once made grand declarations, but they kept running into obstacles. In 2019, Vice President Pence assured that the US would send astronauts back to the moon within five years. Before Trump took office, he had also solemnly pledged to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours. Now, the US Treasury Secretary is saying that the US can achieve self-sufficiency in rare earths within two years. But the question is, where will the rare earths be smelted in these two years? Is it in China? The US still needs to outsource rare earth separation and purification technology, and the mined ores extracted by the West have to be transported across the ocean to China for processing. Now claiming to establish an alternative system within two years, this statement would probably make even the rare earths "laugh out loud."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847562508494019/
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