Xi tours rare earths facility

President Xi Jinping visited one of China’s major rare earths mining and processing facilities in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, on his first domestic trip since the escalation of the US-China trade war this month, reported the South China Morning Post.

Xi’s visit comes amid growing discussion in China that Beijing could consider banning the export of such minerals in the trade war with the United States.

Rare earth minerals were among the few items excluded from the latest US government plans to implement tariffs on almost all of China’s remaining exports to the US.