China’s state planner has threatened to use rare earths exports as leverage in the ongoing trade war with the United States, in a sign of increasing tensions between the two powers, said the Financial Times.
The National Development and Reform Commission, which oversees economic policy shifts, highlighted in a bulletin yesterday the threat of an export cut-off.
“Will rare earths become China’s counter-weapon against the US’ unwarranted suppression? What I can tell you is that if anyone wants to use products made from rare earth to curb the development of China, then the people of the revolutionary soviet base and the whole Chinese people will not be happy,” the notice read.
Rare earths, a group of 17 metals with a variety of high-tech applications, used in magnets, instrument displays and other strategic applications, are the one raw material where China dominates global supply.