Rare earths are critical minerals used in everything from semiconductors and green technology to the defence industry. - Reuters
SHENZHEN: Even as China and the US roll back tariffs and other trade salvos amid a 90-day truce, there is one powerful source of leverage that Beijing appears to be retaining: the control of its exports of critical minerals, including rare earths.
China’s Commerce Ministry said on Monday (May 12), the same day that details of the US-China agreement were announced, that strengthening export controls of strategic mineral resources was crucial to national security.
