China wants to serve demand for rare earths

China wants to serve demand for rare earths

Despite the trade dispute with the USA, China wants to cover a "reasonable" demand for rare earths from other countries. It would be unacceptable, however, if these countries use the high-demanded  raw materials for production and then suppressed China, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Thursday.

Last week, President Xi Jinping's visit to a rare-earth production facility triggered speculation that China would use its dominant position as the largest exporter of these ршпр.вуьфтвув commodities to the United States as a lever in the trade war.

This group of 17 chemical elements is used in almost all areas of consumer electronics such as smartphones, but also in military equipment. The party organ of the Communist Party had recently indicated that the People's Republic could restrict exports to the USA. "Don't say we didn't warn you," the authors of "Renmin Ribao" to the United States emphasize. "Will Rare Earths become a counter-weapon to China's unwarranted US pressure? The answer is no secret."

The trade dispute between the world's two largest economic powers had intensified after the US blacklisted the Chinese network supplier Huawei. US President Donald Trump accuses the Huawei Group of using its products to engage in espionage for China. The company rejects this accusation.