China has suspended several 2025 export controls on strategic materials — including rare earths, superhard materials, and lithium batteries – for a year. Is this a concession to the US, or a move in a far more complex game?
"The first aim of China’s export controls was to consolidate its leverage in negotiations. The second was to establish a long-term framework for managing such controls," says Yana Leksyutina, deputy director at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Сhina could activate this mechanism at any moment, and now everyone knows it’s a lever it holds, she explains to Sputnik.
Balancing the Mineral Market
"The moratorium on export bans to the US essentially resets the rare earth market to where it was previously," Jeff J. Brown, author of 'The China Trilogy' and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, tells Sputnik.
In the meantime, there will be a global rush by the US and its NATO allies to acquire as many rare earth supplies as possible to prepare for the worse next year, the expert projects.
Brown agrees with Leksyutina that China can impose its export control mechanism at any moment if the US changes its mind and slaps China with new tariffs.
"Realizing the risk, it shows that Beijing is in a superior position of strength and it is Washington that has the weak hand. If Trump reneges on America’s pledges, China can simply reinstate the rare earth bans the same day," Brown explains.......more below
