Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for an alliance with other developing nations for rare earths production, as Beijing steps up its competition with Washington over the key minerals.
China already dominates the production and refining of rare earths, which are essential for defense and technology manufacturing. Li, the country’s second-highest ranking official, said 19 nations had already committed to join the alliance, while vowing to expand the group.
This year, Beijing imposed rare earths export restrictions on the US in response to Washington’s tariffs. While the restrictions have been temporarily paused, the White House has pushed to reduce its reliance on China, signing a deal with Saudi Arabia last week to jointly produce the minerals.
