Tag: Rare Earths

China Detained 2 Japanese on Suspicion of Smuggling

Media Library

China has detained two Japanese citizens on suspicion of smuggling banned products, the Japanese government said on Wednesday, adding to rising tensions between the two countries. The Japanese nationals were detained in May in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, according to a statement by Japan’s government. Chinese officials have indicated that they are being held on “on suspicion of violating the law and smuggling goods that are prohibited from being imported or exported,” Minoru Kihara, a top Japanese cabinet official, said at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.…

China Tightens Rare-Earth Grip on U.S. Firms, Threatening Trade Clash

Media Library

China took aim on Monday at a U.S. government program to reduce American reliance on Chinese imports for rare-earth magnets, a move that risks reigniting trade tensions with President Trump. New restrictions will prohibit Chinese companies from shipping certain rare-earth metals to two companies that are leading the Trump administration’s efforts to revive the American rare-earth industry. The metals banned by China’s Ministry of Commerce are critical for a wide range of products, from cars to military drones, and China controls nearly the entire global supply of them. After meeting…

Why the Bombing of Iran Tied the U.S. More Closely to China

Media Library

As the United States works to rebuild its supply of missiles and munitions after deploying many of them in the war with Iran, its defense contractors will need a supply of rare-earth minerals and magnets that are essential to making those weapons. But China dominates global production of those minerals, and it has enacted tight controls over them in the past year to cut off any foreign companies linked to the military and to put political pressure on the Trump administration. China deployed its control over the mineral supply chain…

How China May Have Sought to Recruit a House Aide to Spy on the U.S.

Media Library

When a man identifying himself as Chris Chen reached out this winter to an aide on a House committee focused on threats from China, he came armed with a lucrative offer. The staff member, Mr. Chen proposed, could earn $10,000 or more by barely lifting a finger. All he would need to do is agree to phone calls every other week to share information about the committee’s work and U.S. foreign policy about China. Insights into U.S. trade or national-security issues, including the Trump administration’s plans for Venezuela in the…

Three Months After Biden, It’s Xi’s Turn to Court Vietnam

Media Library

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday for a relatively rare trip abroad, seeking to elevate ties with an important neighbor just three months after President Biden visited Hanoi on a similar mission. Few nations now feature more centrally in the great-power competition between the United States and China, placing Vietnam, which has a long history of fierce independence, in a high-risk, high-reward position. Keeping both giants happy could mean a transformative economic boost; angering one or the other could bring heavy costs. “This is a very delicate…