Beijing has been in a trade war with the U.S. (Image: Getty)
Donald Trump’s visit to China fell short of achieving progress on a crucial aspect of the US-China trade dispute — Beijing’s export restrictions on rare earth materials essential to America’s defense sector.
Despite expectations that the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping might reduce friction, no deal was reached to ease restrictions on rare-earth minerals and magnets.
Chinese scholar Zhang Weiwei has indicated that Beijing is ready to impose even stricter controls — especially targeting the U.S. military.
He said: “China has adopted this already on the proper management of rare earth materials. Since last year, China has exercised stricter control over the export of rare earth to the United States,” reports Express UK.
“It had to do with trade war and tech war. And China said: no rare earths for the U.S. military and its establishments. China now can exercise stricter control.” It comes as Russian leader Vladimir Putin is set to visit Xi just days after the 2-day summit.
China now can exercise stricter control over rare earth materials (Image: Getty)
These comments have raised concerns, with geopolitical commentator Furkan Gözükara asserting: “The Pentagon is in absolute panic.”
He added, “Prof. Zhang Weiwei confirms China has officially cut off all rare earth exports to the U.S. military.
“He exposes how Washington’s disastrous tech war completely backfired, leaving their weapons manufacturing severely crippled.”
Rare earth elements are critical for sophisticated US defense systems, including semiconductors, fighter aircraft, submarines, missiles, radar technology and precision-guided munitions. A recent Pentagon briefing emphasized that obtaining rare earth elements has become a “national security imperative,” underscoring mounting anxieties about America’s dependency on supply chains dominated by China.
The Pentagon report reveals that China maintains control over the vast majority of global rare-earth processing capabilities, posing a significant strategic weakness for U.S. defense manufacturing.
Already, the Pentagon has invested hundreds of millions in domestic extraction and processing initiatives to lessen reliance on Beijing.
A defense official acknowledged that the U.S. can no longer sustain such heavy dependence on foreign sources.
“Rebuilding the critical minerals and rare earth magnet sectors of the US industrial base won’t happen overnight,” the official said.
Trump’s China visit had been seen as a possible opportunity to defuse tensions over critical mineral exports, following months of disruption from reciprocal trade actions by both nations.
Yet, no substantial agreement materialized from the visit.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer admitted this week that China was still “dragging its feet” over export approvals despite previous agreements intended to restore supply flows.
“We’ve certainly seen the rare earths come back up to better levels. Sometimes it’s slow,” Greer said.
“There are times when we have to go and make our point.” The ongoing restrictions have already triggered shortages across segments of the U.S. aerospace and semiconductor sectors, with certain essential materials remaining in short supply despite months of discussions.
Experts suggest the impasse illustrates how China’s dominance over critical minerals has emerged as one of Beijing’s most potent tools in the broader economic confrontation with Washington.