Bypassing China and Russia, the United States and Mongolia reached an agreement that American planes could fly directly to Mongolia, which gave China a problem.

　　On August 3rd, visiting Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun Erdenii said that Mongolia will deepen cooperation with the United States in the field of rare earth mining. Prior to this, the United States and Mongolia have agreed to sign an "open sky" civil aviation agreement, which means that American planes can fly directly to Mongolia in the future. It is undoubtedly bad news for China and Russia that the United States and Mongolia have reached cooperation in rare earth and aviation at the same time, especially for China.

　　Recently, China has successively imposed export controls on gallium and germanium, important raw materials for semiconductors, and unmanned aerial vehicles, which has aroused international heated discussion. Next, whether China will extend the scope of export control to key mineral areas such as rare earths is even more uncertain for western countries. Therefore, the United States reached rare earth cooperation with Mongolia this time, probably for a rainy day to avoid being countered by China with rare earth in the future.

　　Rare earth has a wide range of uses in cutting-edge science and technology, and it is a resource with high strategic value. Relevant data show that China's rare earth reserves account for 39% of the global total reserves, and its annual output exceeds 80% of the global market. Undoubtedly, as the world's largest country with rare earth resources, once China restricts the export of rare earths, the global rare earth market will have a huge shock, and most countries, including the United States, will immediately face the embarrassing situation that there are no rare earths available. Not long ago, China used gallium and germanium to make the West suffer. It is hard to say whether it will use rare earth again in the future, which is exactly what the West is worried about.

　　In order to reduce the risk of China's supply of rare earths, the West must find a substitute, and Mongolia, which is also rich in rare earth resources, is undoubtedly an excellent choice. As soon as the Mongolian Prime Minister arrived in the United States this time, the two sides reached a cooperation on rare earth mining, indicating that the United States has already started relevant work, and now it has finally got its wish and insured itself in the supply of rare earths. As for the "open sky" civil aviation agreement, the greater probability is also to facilitate the transportation of rare earths by cargo flights. This shows that the United States attaches great importance to rare earths and is determined not to rely on China's rare earths.

　　It is Mongolia's right to cooperate with the United States or not, and in which fields. However, due to the particularity of Mongolia's geographical location and the sensitivity of rare earth resources, China and Russia cannot turn a blind eye to the cooperation between the United States and Mongolia. Mongolia is a completely landlocked country. Apart from China and Russia, there are no other neighboring countries and no sea ports. In other words, Mongolia must transit through China and Russia to transport goods abroad, and it must obtain the consent of China and Russia. However, for China and Russia, especially China, whether to agree to the transit of Mongolian goods has become a problem.

　　If agreed, the United States can continuously obtain a large number of rare earths from Mongolia, and China will lose a powerful bargaining chip to counter the containment and suppression of the United States, which will further damage China's national interests. If we don't agree, it will affect China-Mongolia relations, and the West will probably take the opportunity to attack China and interfere with Mongolia's cooperation with other countries. Once the population is established, it will also be detrimental to China's international image. In addition, Mongolia has a low level of economic development and a single model, and earns money by exporting mineral resources. If China refuses to facilitate Mongolia's export of rare earths, it is likely to be regarded by Mongolia as cutting off its financial resources, and on the contrary, it may make Mongolia completely fall to the United States, which is certainly not what China wants to see.

　　Objectively speaking, if China really wants to "spoil" the rare earth cooperation between the United States and Mongolia, there are many ways, but whether to do so or not, I'm afraid I have to think twice, and the pros and cons should be carefully weighed. After all, China is in a critical period of national rejuvenation, and our eyes can't just focus on a Mongolian.