China23 September, 20263 min read
Xi Jinping Gains Leverage Over Donald Trump With Rare Earth Export Controls
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
China's rare earth export controls strengthen its negotiating position against Trump ahead of Washington talks. Xi can retaliate through manufacturing power and technology controls, leveraging rare earths.
Rare earth leverage
Xi Jinping is set to meet Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, with the Washington Post describing rare earths as a source of leverage that has strengthened Xi’s hand in the tense rivalry between the two countries. The Washington Post frames the meeting as part of a broader contest over critical minerals, and it points to China’s ability to “take aim at U.S. rare earth companies with new export controls.” The BigGo Finance account says the U.S.-China trade truce has been held together by three headline commitments since May, while rare-earth shipments have “slipped again.”
The BigGo Finance report adds that China’s rare-earth fulfillment is “the hardest to measure” because the promise concerns reliable access rather than a specified export volume, and it cites Chinese customs data showing rare-earth magnets shipments to the U.S. fell to 512 metric tons in August. The BigGo Finance report also says the truce’s uneven record is visible in soybeans, where China has bought roughly half of its 25 million ton annual commitment after purchasing about one million tons from U.S. producers in a single week in September.
Summit logistics and talks
El Tiempo says Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday for a three-day state visit and will meet Trump on Thursday at the White House, barely four months after their encounter in Beijing. El Tiempo adds that U.S. officials said Trump plans to personally travel to Andrews Air Force Base to greet Xi upon arrival, followed by a military review on the Rose Garden and a state dinner. El Tiempo reports that preparatory negotiations have already yielded progress, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng advancing in creating a Trade Board during talks held in New York this weekend.
El Tiempo also says the teams continued discussions on possible tariff reductions for consumer goods, agricultural products, energy, and medical devices, while Washington sought greater Chinese purchases of agricultural products and other American goods. The Times of India places the summit in a wider bargaining context, saying the handshake will last seconds and that “the bargaining could shape the next phase” of the rivalry.
What each side can use
The Times of India presents Trump’s cards as including the ability to threaten tariffs, restrict China’s access to American technology, and wield the world’s dominant financial system, while it presents Xi’s cards as including retaliation through China’s manufacturing base and its grip on rare earths. The BigGo Finance report describes rare earths as the principal Chinese choke point, balanced against U.S. leverage in advanced semiconductors used in chipmaking, and it quotes Larry Hu describing the relationship as “a balance of vulnerability.” The BigGo Finance report also quotes Eric Xiao calling rare earths “the clearest indicator of the broader relationship,” and it says progression on the rare-earths commitment could “anchor a durable relationship” in a way that soybean and aircraft orders cannot.
The Washington Post describes Xi as wielding leverage in the tense rivalry, and it frames the rare-earth issue as part of China’s broader approach to export controls. The Times of India concludes that Xi’s resilience is a counter-card to Trump’s tariffs, and it says the tariff battle has repeatedly shifted between escalation and temporary relief.