Rare earth stalls US-Bejing talks

Trade truce in London leaves matters unresolved as Beijing withholds key trade exports, writes Reuters

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The renewed US-China trade truce struck in London left a key area of export restrictions tied to national security untouched, an unresolved conflict that threatens a more comprehensive deal, two people briefed on detailed outcomes of the talks told Reuters.

Beijing has not committed to grant export clearance for some specialised rare-earth magnets that US military suppliers need for fighter jets and missile systems, the people said. The United States maintains export curbs on China's purchases of advanced artificial intelligence chips out of concern that they also have military applications.

At talks in London last week, China's negotiators appeared to link progress in lifting export controls on military-use rare earth magnets with the longstanding US curbs on exports of the most advanced AI chips to China.

That marked a new twist in trade talks that began with opioid trafficking, tariff rates and China's trade surplus, but have since shifted to focus on export controls.