Brazil's top foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, stated that the AI race is a two-power contest between the US and China, with Latin America and Europe sidelined. He proposed Brazil should draw capital and technology from both sides, utilizing BRICS and the Global South to maintain balance.
The US and China are testing their post-summit detente through proposed trade and investment boards. Key issues like tariffs, drone security (DJI), and rare earths could challenge this stability if clarity is lacking.
India and the US signed a framework agreement on May 26 to secure critical mineral supplies, aiming to reduce reliance on single-source monopolies and counter coercive market practices, particularly concerning China's dominance in rare earths.
India and the US have signed a framework agreement to cooperate on critical minerals and rare earths supply chains, aiming to reduce dependence on China. The deal includes mining, processing, recycling, and investments. Separately, a Quad countries initiative was announced, targeting $20bn for resilient supply chains.
China has significantly reduced exports of rare earths and gallium to Japan since December, impacting Japanese manufacturers reliant on these critical materials for magnets, aerospace, and chip production. This move follows diplomatic tensions over Taiwan and mirrors previous export restrictions China imposed on the US.
A week after President Trump's visit to China, differing interpretations of agreements reached in Beijing are emerging. While both nations aimed to stabilize relations, the US focused on de-escalating trade tensions and securing rare earth minerals, while China sought jet engines, semiconductors, and a policy shift on Taiwan.
The EU is planning its first joint stockpile of critical minerals like tungsten, rare earths, and gallium to reduce dependence on China. Major ports like Rotterdam are being considered for storage. This move aims to insulate the EU economy from China's production dominance and leverage in trade disputes.
A new discovery of rare earth deposits in China could alter the established understanding of their distribution, potentially rewriting the 'heavy in the south, light in the north' pattern. The findings were published by a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Chinese scientists discovered new rare earth deposits in Heilongjiang and Jilin. Unlike southern clay-rich areas, these northern formations are loose sand and gravel, potentially making extraction cheaper, more efficient, and environmentally friendly, bolstering China's global dominance.
Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered six Chinese-linked companies to sell their stakes in rare earths miner Northern Minerals, citing national interest and compliance with foreign investment rules. This action aims to prevent Chinese investors from gaining control of the company, which is crucial for critical minerals supply chains.
China has agreed to purchase U.S. soybeans and improve access to rare earths, the White House announced Sunday, following a summit between Presidents Trump and Xi. Agreements also include agricultural trade and aircraft purchases.
The Trump-Xi summit poses a lose-lose situation for Europe, particularly regarding rare earth supply chains dominated by China, threatening EU industrial survival and potentially sidelining European interests in US-China trade deals.
In a conference centre in The Hague last October, a roomful of Asia-watching European officials and experts were gathered for a symposium on relations with China when news broke that Beijing was expanding export controls on rare earths and other minerals. Crucially, there was now an extraterritorial element: China could deny exports not only to direct buyers, but also restrict products made in third countries if they contained Chinese-origin rare earth content or controlled inputs. In practice,...
Director of the Third CIS Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Sternik noted that rare earth metals are used in advanced weapons and military equipment, laser systems and navigation systems
Chinese officials have signalled privately a growing willingness to retaliate against the United States, buoyed by confidence in their economic leverage as US President Donald Trump prepares to visit Beijing this week. Sources told the South China Morning Post that officials in Beijing had grown bolder since playing its rare earths card in October and were now less worried about tariffs. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said...
Thanks to the Iran war, big issues for U.S. businesses like rare earths and supply chains may take a back seat on the agenda for the Trump-Xi summit.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told US President Donald Trump on Thursday that his country’s rare earth reserves are open to investment from China and any other nation willing to process the minerals on Brazilian soil, resisting pressure to side with Washington in its contest with Beijing over critical mineral supply chains. “We have no preference. What we want is to share with whoever wants to invest in Brazil,” Lula said at a press conference at the Brazilian embassy in...
Japan and Australia agreed to step up collaboration in areas including critical minerals, defence and energy security, tackling China’s dominance of rare earths and fuel-supply disruptions caused by the Iran war. “Australia and Japan are taking action to protect our economies from future economic shocks and uncertainty,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, in Canberra. “By working together, we will achieve more...
African eels, frozen meat and rare earths now have one thing in common – at least in China. The commodities are among a wide variety of products that can enter the country tariff-free as part of a policy to help redress the continent’s massive trade imbalance with China. The zero-tariff policy has applied to 33 “least-developed” African countries since 2024 and, from May 1, has been expanded to include 20 “middle-income” African nations. The schedule will remain in effect for two years, covering...
Planet Money tells the story of how the U.S. lost to China on rare earths.
The Trump administration is pushing for pragmatic diplomacy to rebuild critical mineral supply chains without China, with the Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project in South Africa receiving US$50 million in equity funding from the US International Development Finance Corporation. The project, proposed in 2023 during the Biden administration, has advanced despite Donald Trump's accusations that South Africa is persecuting its white minority—allegations rejected by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Observers say Beijing's dominance in rare earths appears too strong to break soon.
The Donald Trump administration’s strategic interest in rare earths is pushing the US towards more pragmatic diplomacy as it seeks to rebuild critical mineral supply chains that pivot away from China, according to observers. The shift has yielded cooperation on resource projects even when broader political ties are strained, they added, saying it highlighted Washington’s eagerness to secure alternative supplies even though Beijing’s dominance in the supply chain appeared too strong to break...
China has announced it holds the world's largest reserves of 14 essential minerals and plans to increase exploration through 2030. The move highlights Beijing's focus on resource security amid rising geopolitical tensions and export controls on critical materials.
SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and China have reaffirmed the need to wo...
