評論
打印
Rare Earth Battle
稀土之戰
Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, has called for the US and its partners to reduce their dependence on China ’s production of so-called rare earths, in some of the most forthright comments on the topic by a senior American official.
美國國務卿希拉里·克林頓呼吁美國及其盟友減少對中國稀土的依賴，這是迄今為止美國高官就稀土問題發表的最為坦率的言論之一。
But she welcomed a statement by Beijing on Thursday that it would not use its sway over the market as a bargaining tool with other economies.
中國政府周四表示，不會將中國在稀土市場中的主導地位看作是與其他經濟體討價還價的工具。希拉里對此聲明表示歡迎。
China made that announcement after Mrs. Clinton decided to visit the country on her prolonged Asian tour.
中國政府是在希拉里決定延長亞洲之行順便造訪中國之后發表以上聲明的。
She is due to meet Dai Bingguo, state counselor for foreign policy, in Hainan Island on Saturday.
她將于周六在海南島與中國負責外交政策的國務委員戴秉國會晤。
Rare earths are used for high-technology products such as precision-guided weapons and hybrid cars.
稀土是用于生產精確制導武器和混合動力汽車等高科技產品的原料。
Beijing dominates the market with some 97 per cent of production, even though it has only 36 per cent of world reserves.
中國在稀土市場上占據主導地位，年產量占全球的97%左右，儲量只有全球總量的36%。
This year it has cut export quotas, increased duties and has been accused by Tokyo of choking off Japan’s supplies-an accusation China has denied.
今年，中國削減了稀土出口配額，提高了關稅。日本政府指責卡斷日本的稀土供應——中國對此予以了否認。
The Obama administration has also been looking into reports that China had halted some shipments to the US.
奧巴馬政府也在調查中國扣壓部分對美發貨的報告。
“The entire world has to seek additional supplies in order to protect the important production needs that these materials serve,” Mrs. Clinton said at a meeting in Hawaii with Seiji Maehara, Japan’s foreign minister.
希拉里在夏威夷會晤日本外相前原誠司時表示：“全世界都必須另外尋找稀土的供應源，以保護那些重要的生產需求。
“These are elements that are critical to industrial production, not only in Japan and the US.”
這些元素不只對日本和美國重要，它們在所有國家的工業生產中都發揮著至關重要的作用。”
Her comments come at a time of strain in US-Chinese ties over issues such as Beijing’s renminbi policy, its subsidies for green energy, and US efforts to deepen co-operation with many of China’s neighbors in south-east Asia.
希拉里發表上述言論之際，美中關系正陷入緊張。兩國間的主要問題包括中國匯率政策、綠色能源補貼，以及美國與中國許多東南亞鄰國深度合作等。
Mrs. Clinton added that the current focus on rare earths “served as a wake-up call” that,
希拉里補充，當前的稀土問題“為我們敲響了警鐘”：
being so dependent on only one source, risked disruption through natural disasters or “other kinds of events”.
嚴重依賴某一種資源，可能在自然災害或“其他事件”發生時帶來風險。
