Shares of US rare earth companies jumped Thursday after China tightened export controls on crucial minerals, reopening a front in the countries’ trade war.
The surge stemmed from speculation that the new restrictions would spur the US government to invest more deeply in the country’s domestic rare earth industry. Beijing’s move, Nikkei wrote, raises the stakes in a “US-China power game” that previously showed signs of cooling.
It is now heating up ahead of the APEC summit in three weeks, where Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to meet. US executives aren’t taking Beijing seriously enough over its willingness to weaponize regulations to tighten the screws on Washington, an analyst argued in CNBC.
