SCMP: China heads to Trump summit emboldened by rare earths leverage
Chinese officials feel emboldened heading into Donald Trump's Beijing visit, the South China Morning Post reports. Sources say confidence has grown since October's rare-earths curbs and concerns over US tariffs have eased.
Sources cited by the South China Morning Post say Chinese officials have grown bolder about retaliating against the United States, with their confidence rooted in last October's curbs on rare-earths exports.
The sources said Beijing now feels less rattled by US tariff threats. China commands the bulk of global rare-earth processing, giving it strong leverage over Washington in critical sectors such as semiconductors, defence manufacturing and electric-vehicle supply chains.
The officials, speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said the Chinese side feels more comfortable at the negotiating table ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing this week. The agenda is set to include tariffs, Taiwan, the tensions around the Strait of Hormuz and technology export controls. The outcome will serve as a key reference point for global markets.
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