US-China Rare Earth Dispute Escalates: Export Controls Spark Diplomatic Tensions

Rare Earths Tensions Rise As US, China Trade Barbs

Beijing maintains it notified Washington before announcing the new licensing regime. (File)

Beijing:

Chinese state media released a comprehensive seven-point rebuttal on Thursday addressing US demands for Beijing to withdraw its rare earth controls, as both nations struggle to navigate beyond accusations and counter-accusations of surprising the other with unexpected policy moves.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer characterized China's new rare earth export restrictions as "a global supply-chain power grab" on Wednesday, suggesting that Beijing could avoid President Donald Trump's threatened reimposition of substantial tariffs on Chinese goods by abandoning the measures scheduled to take effect on November 8.

Beijing asserts that it properly notified Washington prior to announcing the new licensing system, and maintains that these controls align with similar regulatory frameworks long established in other major economies worldwide.

The US and China have been locked in an escalating verbal dispute since a September phone conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with each side accusing the other of heightening tensions just weeks before an anticipated meeting between the two leaders.

Beijing attributes the intensified rhetoric to the US Commerce Department's unexpected expansion of its "Entity List" in late September, which now includes companies in China and elsewhere that utilize subsidiaries to circumvent export restrictions on chipmaking equipment and other high-technology products.

Washington, however, traces the conflict's origin to China's critical minerals policy shift, which Trump described as "shocking."

"The United States has long overstated national security concerns and abused controls, adopting discriminatory practices against China," stated one of seven infographics published by People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper. The graphic highlighted that Washington maintains a control list exceeding 3,000 items, compared to Beijing's more modest 900-item catalog.

"Implementing such export controls is consistent with international practice," the first infographic emphasized, reiterating Beijing's position on these measures since their initial announcement.

Washington has maintained similar regulatory frameworks since the 1950s, employing them in recent years to prevent foreign semiconductor companies from selling chips to China when they are manufactured using American technology.

"Washington should not be surprised by China's 'tit-for-tat'," declared an editorial in the Global Times, a tabloid owned by People's Daily that has frequently been first to report on China's strategic moves in trade disputes.

"The sudden shift in the trade atmosphere caught many by surprise, yet that's not surprising," the editorial continued.

"The direct trigger for this round of tension was Washington's breach of promises - an all-too familiar pattern."