The Trump administration is pursuing an array of unconventional measures to shore up mineral supplies that are vital for makers of cars, jet engines, weaponry and data centers, as the Chinese government leverages its control of rare earth exports in ways that could cripple global industry.

特朗普政府正在采取一系列非常规措施，以保障汽车、喷气发动机、武器和数据中心制造商所需的关键矿产供应，因为中国政府正在利用其对稀土出口的控制，以可能令全球工业瘫痪的方式施加影响。

In recent months, the administration has taken stakes in several mining and minerals firms. It has talked of establishing a strategic reserve of rare earths, and supporting domestic producers with price controls and tariffs. On Monday, the United States announced a strategic agreement with Australia to invest billions of dollars to develop mineral supplies. The topic is expected to be on the agenda for a Group of 7 meeting in Canada at the end of the month.

近几个月来，政府已在几家矿业和矿产公司中持有股份。它讨论了建立稀土战略储备，并通过价格管制和关税支持国内生产商。周一，美国宣布与澳大利亚达成战略协议，投资数十亿美元开发矿产供应。该议题预计将在本月底于加拿大举行的七国集团会议上讨论。

Some analysts have praised the administration’s effort to find new approaches to reduce a dependence on China that has persisted through the terms of many U.S. presidents. But they have cautioned that the measures are not likely to provide a quick fix to a deep reliance on Chinese mineral supplies.

一些分析人士赞扬政府努力寻找新方法，以减少对中国依赖的做法，这种依赖已持续多位美国总统任期。但他们警告称，这些措施不太可能快速解决对中国矿产的深度依赖问题。

Constructing the mines, refineries and factories needed to provide a real alternative to Chinese supplies will likely take years — even if foreign producers can obtain the machinery and technology they need, which the Chinese government has also proposed controlling. These investments will also require substantial capital, creating the risk that some taxpayer funds will go to unproven companies that could fail.

建设矿山、精炼厂和工厂以提供真正替代中国供应的方案，可能需要数年时间——即使外国生产商能够获得所需机械和技术，而中国政府已经提出了控制这些的方案。这些投资还需要大量资金，存在部分纳税人资金流向可能失败的未成熟企业的风险。

China mines 70 percent of the world’s rare earths, and does chemical processing for 90 percent of the global supply. When the Trump administration recently hit the nation with high tariffs and more expansive technology controls, the Chinese government responded by rolling out a licensing system that would give it control over rare earths shipments even outside of China.

中国开采了全球70%的稀土，并为全球90%的供应进行化学加工。当特朗普政府最近对该国施加高关税和更广泛的技术控制时，中国政府推出许可制度作为回应，该制度使其能够管控包括境外在内的稀土运输。

The restrictions would affect shipments of products containing as little as 0.1 percent Chinese-origin rare earths, as well as the use of Chinese mining and refining equipment and technology. The licensing system would also control battery technologies that are important for electric vehicles, drones and the data centers that power artificial intelligence.

这些限制将覆盖含有低至0.1%的中国来源稀土的产品，以及使用了中国采矿和精炼设备及技术的产品。该许可制度还将控制对电动汽车、无人机和驱动人工智能的数据中心至关重要的电池技术。

Mr. Trump has threatened to impose an additional 100 percent tax on Chinese imports on Nov. 1 unless Beijing backs down from its new restrictions, which are scheduled to go into effect in November and December.

特朗普威胁，除非北京放弃其定于11月和12月生效的新限制，否则将于11月1日对中国进口商品额外征收100%的税。

The United States and China could walk back tensions in high-level meetings scheduled for later this month. Mr. Trump is expected to meet with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, in South Korea, amid a multicountry trip to Asia. But experts say that Beijing is unlikely to remove its new licensing system entirely, meaning it would continue to hold leverage over the United States and other nations if tensions return.

美国和中国可能在本月晚些时候的高级别会议中缓和紧张局势。特朗普预计将在亚洲多国访问期间于韩国会见中国领导人习近平。但专家表示，北京不太可能完全取消其新许可制度，这意味着如果紧张局势重现，它将继续掌握这一对美国和其他国家的杠杆。

Abigail Hunter, the executive director of the Minerals Center at Securing America’s Future Energy, a nonprofit, said that the Trump administration had been “really proactive in trying to solve these problems” but that it would take time for the United States to develop an alternative supply chain for critical minerals.

非营利组织保障美国未来能源矿产中心执行董事阿比盖尔·亨特表示，特朗普政府“在试图解决这些问题方面非常主动”，但美国开发关键矿产替代供应链需要时间。

Threats to U.S. mineral supplies will just “keep happening until we shift our thinking on how important these kind of trace materials are,” she said, adding, “You’re only as strong as your weakest supply chain link.”

她表示，对美国矿产供应的威胁将“持续发生，直到我们转变对这类痕量材料的重要性的认识”，并且“供应链中最薄弱的环节，决定了你最多能有多强”。

A Longstanding Risk

长期风险

The extent of the Chinese restrictions has come as a surprise, but Beijing’s use of its exports as a source of leverage has not. As early as 2010, China cut off rare earth exports to pressure Japan in a maritime dispute. Beijing has used other kinds of trade curbs to try to pressure other governments, including Australia, South Korea and Estonia.

中国限制的程度出乎外界的意料，但北京利用其出口作为杠杆并不意外。早在2010年，中国就曾切断对日本的稀土出口，以便在海事争端中向其施压。北京还曾试图使用其他贸易限制向澳大利亚、韩国和爱沙尼亚等政府施压。

Under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the U.S. government carried out a supply chain review of mineral dependence on China, but little headway was made in changing it. Mining and refining operations can be environmentally harmful, and take years to set up in the United States, if they are approved at all.

在拜登总统任期内，美国政府对中国矿产依赖进行了供应链审查，但没有取得多少改观。采矿和精炼作业可能对环境有害，即使获得批准，在美国设立也需要数年时间。

The Biden administration also discussed international partnerships. But the volume of Chinese-produced rare earths flooding the global market pushed down prices and made many international projects uncompetitive, analysts said.

拜登政府也考虑过国际伙伴关系。但分析人士表示，中国生产的稀土大量涌入全球市场，压低了价格，使许多国际项目缺乏竞争力。

“We’ve been very good at admiring the problem and less good at solving it,” said Kurt Campbell, the chairman and co-founder of the Asia Group and the former deputy secretary of state under Mr. Biden.

“我们很擅长欣赏问题，但不擅长解决它，”亚洲集团主席兼联合创始人、前拜登政府副国务卿库尔特·坎贝尔表示。

Last December, China banned the export of several minerals to the United States, in response to technology curbs put in place by the Biden administration. In April, after Mr. Trump threatened tariffs on its exports, Beijing put more limits on its exports of rare earth metals and magnets, causing some global factories to shutter temporarily.

去年12月，中国禁止向美国出口几种矿产，以回应拜登政府实施的技术限制。4月，在特朗普威胁对出口征收关税后，北京对稀土金属和磁铁的出口施加更多限制，导致一些全球工厂暂时关闭。

This month, the Chinese government greatly expanded the program, in a move that some in the Trump administration likened to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. The announcement came after a move by the United States that added thousands of Chinese companies to a so-called entity list, which restricts the U.S. technology those firms are allowed to buy.

本月，中国政府大幅扩展该计划，特朗普政府中一些人将其比作“二战”期间日本对珍珠港的袭击。该公告是在美国将数千家中国公司列入所谓“实体清单”、限制这些公司购买美国技术之后发布的。

Chinese officials have insisted that the licensing program is aimed at fulfilling “international non-proliferation obligations,” and laid the blame on the United States for upsetting ongoing negotiations. Last week, Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the licensing system was “in line with international practice.”

中国官员坚称，该许可计划旨在履行“国际防扩散义务”，并将责任归咎于美国扰乱正在进行的谈判。上周，中国外交部发言人林剑表示，该许可制度“符合国际通行做法”。

Mr. Campbell said that Chinese officials had been privately assuring the Trump administration that the rare earths licensing system was not meant to have such a broad impact, and that the United States had misunderstood its intent. But Beijing was unlikely to withdraw the measures, he said.

坎贝尔表示，中国官员此前私下向特朗普政府保证，并没有想到稀土许可制度会产生如此广泛的影响，美国误解了其意图。但他表示，北京不太可能撤回这些措施。

“I do not believe that they’re going to back down,” Mr. Campbell said.

“我不相信他们会退让，”坎贝尔说。

The restrictions the Chinese have proposed would affect a variety of minerals, each with different uses and market dynamics. Some are used to create magnets that power wind turbines, electric vehicles and jet engines. Others are used in tiny quantities to make semiconductors, medical devices and cancer treatments.

中国拟议的限制将影响多种矿产，每种矿产有不同的用途和市场动态。有些用于制造驱动风力涡轮机、电动汽车和喷气发动机的磁铁。还有一些则以微量形式用于制造半导体、医疗设备和癌症治疗。

Sarah Stewart, the chief executive at Silverado Policy Accelerator, a think tank, said that some private companies were trying to be more creative in shoring up domestic supplies. But without government intervention to prop up low prices of minerals, it has been difficult for private companies to justify making the substantial capital investments the industry requires, she said.

智库Silverado Policy Accelerator的首席执行官莎拉·斯图尔特表示，一些私营公司为求巩固国内供应，正试图另辟蹊径。但她表示，如果没有政府干预来支撑矿产低价，私营公司难以证明行业所需的大量资本投资是合理的。

A New Gold Rush

新淘金热

The Trump administration has discussed a variety of unconventional approaches to the problem. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at an investment forum last week that the administration would work to set price floors, do “forward buying” and establish a strategic mineral reserve to “make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

特朗普政府讨论了解决该问题的多种非常规方法。财政部长斯科特·贝森特在上周的投资论坛上表示，政府将努力设定价格底线，进行“远期采购”并建立战略矿产储备，以“确保这种情况不再发生”。

He said the government would look to make direct investments in the rare earths industry, as well as several other strategic sectors.

他表示，政府将寻求直接投资稀土行业以及其他几个战略部门。

美国政府已同意在矿业领域的多家公司中持有股权，其中包括MP Materials，该公司拥有位于加利福尼亚-内华达边境的芒廷帕斯稀土矿。

The government has already taken equity stakes in several companies in the mining sector. In July, the Defense Department agreed to invest $400 million to take a 15 percent stake in MP Materials, which owns a rare earths mine on the California-Nevada border. The company is finishing a factory in Texas to supply General Motors, and is planning a second factory to expand production.

政府已持有几家矿业公司的股权。7月，国防部同意投资4亿美元，以获取MP Materials公司15%的股份，该公司拥有加利福尼亚-内华达边境的一座稀土矿。公司正在得克萨斯州完成一家为通用汽车供货的工厂，并在筹建第二家工厂以扩大生产。

The Trump administration also recently announced it would take stakes in Trilogy Metals, a Canadian company that has proposed copper and zinc mining in Alaska, and Lithium Americas, which is developing one of the world’s largest lithium mines in Nevada.

特朗普政府最近还宣布将持有加拿大公司Trilogy Metals的股份，该公司提议在阿拉斯加开采铜和锌，以及正在内华达开发世界最大锂矿之一的Lithium Americas公司。

People familiar with the sector say the Trump administration has been weighing further government investments and eyeing areas like rare earth magnets, deep sea mining and African mines that are not yet under Chinese control. Some potential investment targets are being drawn from lists of applicants for previous funding programs. In other instances, companies in the industry are approaching the Trump administration directly.

熟悉该行业的人士表示，特朗普政府正在权衡进一步的政府投资，并关注稀土磁铁、深海开采和尚未受中国控制的非洲矿山等领域。一些潜在投资目标来自之前资助计划的申请者名单。还有的是行业公司直接与特朗普政府接触。

The moves have raised concerns among some analysts and executives about how the Trump administration is choosing targets for substantial investments of U.S. taxpayer money, and about whether the deals will pan out. Those concerns are particularly acute when it comes to processing minerals, given the sector features many companies that market new technologies that have not been widely used.

在这些举措中，特朗普政府如何选择美国纳税人资金大幅投资目标，以及这些交易能否成功，引发了一些分析人士和高管的担忧。在矿产加工领域问题尤为尖锐，因为该领域有许多公司在推销尚未广泛使用的新技术。

Mahnaz Khan, a vice president at Silverado Policy Accelerator, said that administration officials were knowledgeable about the sector and exercising caution when considering investing in companies pitching unproven solutions.

Silverado Policy Accelerator副总裁马赫纳兹·汗表示，政府官员对该领域有充分了解，在考虑投资推广未经验证解决方案的企业时持谨慎态度。

“I think there is that sense of hesitation,” she said. The administration’s efforts to shore up alternative supplies of rare earths involve multiple agencies. While many of the actions appear aggressive, analysts said they could be impeded by a lack of coordination and turmoil in the government, including an ongoing government shutdown, mass layoffs and a lapse in certain congressional funding.

“我认为存在这种犹豫感，”她说。政府巩固稀土替代供应的努力涉及多个机构。虽然许多行动看似激进，但分析人士表示，它们可能因缺乏协调和政府动荡而受阻，包括正在进行的政府停摆、大规模裁员和某些国会资金的中断。

The National Energy Dominance Council, which was set up in the White House in February, is playing a leading role in finding new sources of minerals outside of China. The Defense, Energy and Treasury Departments and the Export-Import Bank of the United States have been involved with funding and investments, while the State Department has discussed international partnerships.

在寻找中国以外的新矿产来源方面，2月在白宫成立的国家能源主导委员会发挥着主导作用。国防部、能源部、财政部和美国进出口银行参与了拨款和投资，而国务院讨论了国际伙伴关系。

The Commerce Department has been preparing tariffs on foreign critical minerals and providing analysis of the global supply chain. But some former Commerce employees said that the agency’s staff was hollowed out by a reorganization during the Biden administration and government downsizing in the Trump administration.

商务部一直在准备对外国关键矿产征收关税，并提供全球供应链分析。但一些前商务部员工表示，由于拜登政府期间的重组和特朗普政府期间的政府缩减，该部面临着人手不足的问题。

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which is responsible for making investments in line with U.S. foreign policy objectives, is also seen as an important player. But congressional funding for the agency expired Oct. 6, and would need to be renewed before the D.F.C. can make new investments.

负责根据美国外交政策目标进行投资的美国国际开发金融公司也被视为重要参与者。但该机构的国会资金于10月6日到期，需要续签才能进行新投资。

Some analysts and executives argue that more extensive congressional funding will be needed to support mining and processing or to build up a strategic reserve of the minerals.

一些分析人士和高管认为，需要更广泛的国会资金来支持开采和加工，或建立矿产战略储备。

Others say that the problem ultimately requires international coordination, given that rare earth deposits are spread out around the world, and that strong environmental protections and high costs may prevent projects from moving forward in the United States.

还有一些人表示，鉴于稀土矿藏分布全球，问题最终需要国际协调，而且严格的环境保护和高成本可能阻碍美国项目的推进。

In his remarks last week, Mr. Bessent said that the United States would speak with allies in Europe, Australia, Canada, India and Asia to respond collectively.

贝森特在上周的讲话中表示，美国将与欧洲、澳大利亚、加拿大、印度和亚洲的盟友对话，集体应对。

“This is China versus the world. It’s not a U.S.-China problem,” Mr. Bessent said.

“这是中国与世界对立。这不是美中问题，”贝森特说。

Evan Medeiros, a professor at Georgetown University and a senior adviser at the Asia Group, said the Chinese system was “breathtaking in its application of extraterritoriality.” But he questioned whether the Trump administration would “have enough good will and have enough diplomatic nimbleness” to harness international resistance to the Chinese action.

乔治城大学教授、亚洲集团高级顾问麦艾文(Evan Medeiros)表示，中国提出的制度“在其域外适用方面令人叹为观止”。但他质疑特朗普政府是否“有足够的善意和外交灵活性”来利用国际对中国的抵制。

“The real question is whether or not the international community will recognize this and collectively come together,” Mr. Medeiros said.

“真正的问题是国际社会是否会认识到这一点，并联合起来，”麦艾文说。