🌍 **全球稀土格局与中国主导地位**：稀土是现代科技和国防工业不可或缺的基础材料，涵盖电动汽车、智能手机、先进军事装备、医疗器械和清洁能源等广泛领域。当前，中国凭借对约60-70%的稀土开采和超过85-90%的精炼产能的控制，在全球稀土供应链中占据主导地位，这赋予了其巨大的地缘政治和经济影响力。中国也曾利用其在稀土出口方面的优势作为贸易和地缘政治谈判的筹码，引发了国际社会的担忧。

🤝 **美国主导的稀土外交新举措**：为打破中国在稀土领域的垄断，美国正积极推动一项新的全球稀土外交战略。该战略旨在通过与盟友和伙伴国家建立更紧密的合作关系，实现稀土供应链的多元化。具体措施包括与澳大利亚、日本等国签署了重要的稀土和关键矿产合作协议，并与泰国、马来西亚、柬埔寨和越南等东南亚国家就贸易和关键矿产达成协议。此外，美国还在国内（如德克萨斯州）、加拿大和非洲等地积极寻求新的稀土开采和加工项目，并与欧盟合作，通过《关键原材料法案》和《国防生产法案》等政策工具，支持本土稀土加工能力的建设。

💰 **重大合作协议与投资承诺**：美国与澳大利亚达成一项价值约85亿美元的协议，双方各承诺至少10亿美元用于关键矿产和稀土供应链项目。此外，美国还与日本建立了稀土矿产伙伴关系。这些合作协议不仅旨在确保关键矿产的稳定供应，也标志着各国在减少对单一国家依赖、构建更具韧性供应链方面的共同努力，对全球经济和国家安全具有深远影响。

Call it "The Art of the Rare Earth Deal." President Trump has embarked on bold new rare earths diplomacy to reduce China’s global dominance in the rare earth supply chain needed to power industries worldwide. And to do it, Trump is moving to strike rare earth gold in a new global mineral blitz to outflank Beijing, with new deals from Asia to Australia.   

Rare earths are the foundation materials for much of modern technology and defense systems. Without these elements, production of EVs, iPhones, F-35 fighter jets, and even MRI machines would stall.

For defense, they're used for precision-guided missiles, radar, jet engines, satellites, drones and night-vision systems. For consumers, smartphones, flat-screens, hard drives, lasers. 

TRUMP, JAPAN SIGN BLOCKBUSTER RARE EARTH MINERALS DEAL

For the medical sector and factories, they're needed for MRI contrast agents and catalytic converters. For clean energy, they're needed for electric-vehicle motors, wind-turbine magnets. 

Each EV motor needs about 1 kg of neodymium magnets.

China currently controls 60–70% of rare-earth mining and over 85–90% of global refining capacity. This gives Beijing massive leverage over supply chains, especially since refining rare earths involves toxic waste and complex chemistry that many countries outsourced to China decades ago.

TRUMP CALLS XI’S RARE EARTH MOVE A ‘BAD MOMENT’ — WHY IT MATTERS FOR US NATIONAL SECURITY, CHINA TIES

But China has threatened and implemented tighter export controls on rare-earth elements and related materials, using them as leverage in trade and geopolitical negotiations. 

Because these minerals are so critical, export controls or bans (like China’s in 2025) can cripple industries in the U.S., Japan, or Europe.

So what did President Trump and his team do? At least four major deals with Australia, Japan, plus in Southeast Asia. Plus President Trump is getting the EU, and allies to diversify their rare earth supply chains with Australia, Canada, and Southeast Asia.

Just this month, President Trump signed a deal with Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for critical minerals and rare-earth supply chains, committing at least $1 billion each in projects worth about $8.5 billion. He also struck a U.S.–Japan rare-earths minerals partnership with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. 

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And the President just signed broader trade and critical-minerals deals with Southeast Asian nations Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Plus there are new extraction projects in Texas, Canada, and Africa. Plus the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act and the U.S. Defense Production Act are funding domestic processing.