Rare earths force Trump to be less hostile before Xi summit

President Donald Trump has taken a less combative approach than usual ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week — a sign of Beijing’s growing power thanks to critical minerals, China experts said. The Trump administration has so far not threatened to slap steep tariffs on Chinese imports or to ban exports of U.S. technology, in contrast to the aggressive stances that preceded previous summits. The reason, experts said, is largely due to China’s near-total control of rare earth minerals, a key input for tech and auto manufacturing.

Last year, in retaliation against Trump’s tariffs, China curbed rare earth exports and sent shockwaves through world markets.