Neodymium. Yttrium. Dysprosium. You can be forgiven for not knowing the names of these rare earth metals. They were little known until a recent price surge brought them to wider attention. But the 17 so-called rare earths, not produced much outside China, are used to produce myriad modern goods from hybrid cars to mobile phones, wind turbines and smart bombs. That gives China a potential stranglehold on supply, a position it is understandably happy to exploit. Other countries should not let it.
釹、釔、鏑——人們不知道這些稀土金屬的名字也情有可原。這些金屬一直鮮爲人知,直到最近,由於價格飆升,才受到了更廣泛的關注。但從混合動力車到手機,從風力渦輪機到智慧炸彈,無數現代商品都會用到這17種所謂的稀土金屬。它們大多產自中國,這有可能讓中國對稀土供應擁有控制權,而中國樂意利用這一地位,這也是可以理解的。其它國家應阻止這種情況出現。