China signals readiness on rare earth talks, approves more exports
Beijing says it is ‘willing to enhance communication’ on strategic minerals, which have taken centre stage in US-China trade negotiations
In a statement posted on its official website on Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said: “We have observed growing global demand for medium and heavy rare earths in civilian sectors such as robotics and new energy vehicles, as these industries continue to expand.”
It added that, as “a responsible major power”, China had taken the legitimate civilian needs of other countries into account, approved qualified export applications in line with the law, and would continue strengthening its compliance review process.
“China is willing to enhance communication and dialogue with relevant countries on export controls in order to facilitate compliant trade,” the statement read.
China’s rare earth export controls are expected to be among the top items on the agenda when Vice-Premier He Lifeng meets US trade and Treasury officials in London this week, a month after he led the Chinese side in negotiations held in Geneva in May.
The Chinese foreign ministry announced on Saturday that Vice-Premier He would be in Britain from Sunday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, and would take part in the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism.
China has granted temporary export licences to rare earth suppliers serving the top three US carmakers, with at least some valid for six months, according to a Reuters report on Friday citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter.
In a separate report, Reuters also said Trump confirmed on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had “agreed to let rare earth minerals and magnet flow” to the US, in comments following a long-awaited call between the two leaders the previous day.
Leah Fahy, China economist at Capital Economics, said in a note on Friday that one “immediate consequence” of the Xi-Trump call might be that “China will step up export licence approvals for rare earth elements”.
“Still, global access to [rare earth elements] will remain more restricted than it had been, pushing other countries to invest in alternative sources of supply,” she added.
After the high-level US-China talks in Geneva on May 10 and 11, Beijing was widely expected to remove export controls on seven critical minerals that were imposed on April 4 amid the tit-for-tat tariff war with Washington. The curbs require all exporters to apply for a permit before shipping the minerals overseas.
But China has yet to confirm whether it will lift the restrictions, and Washington has accused it of failing to fulfil the commitment it made in Geneva.