Beijing explores the leverage it now has to work its geopolitical will.
Donald Trump has always talked tough about China. He returned to the White House in January gunning for a renewed trade war and demanding that Beijing suppress the illicit fentanyl trade, which kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. What he seems not to have planned for is the response: China is getting tough on Trump.
Earlier this month, Beijing announced that it was tightening export controls on rare-earth metals. These elements are indispensable for manufacturing semiconductors, weapons systems, and other products vital to American national security. China processes 90 percent of rare earths globally. Now some foreign companies that use them in their products may need approval from the Chinese government to export those products to customers.
Beijing began curtailing the export of rare earths to the United States at the height of the trade dispute in April. A worried Trump team prioritized securing supply in its negotiations with China at that time. This month’s move has once again put Washington on the back foot. “I don’t want them to play the rare-earth game with us,” Trump said on Sunday.
A few days after the rare-earths announcement, Beijing struck out against the American shipbuilding industry. In an investigation that concluded in January, Washington determined that China has been engaging in unfair practices to promote its shipbuilders. According to Beijing, five U.S.-linked subsidiaries of a South Korean shipbuilder called Hanwha Ocean cooperated with this U.
