Chinese state media on Thursday issued a seven-point response to U.S. calls for easing restrictions on rare earth metal exports, amid ongoing accusations between the two sides over control of supply chains.
اضافة اعلان
U.S. Trade Representative James Greer said Wednesday that China’s new restrictions on rare earth exports represent “an attempt to control global supply chains,” noting that Beijing could avoid threats from President Donald Trump to reimpose hefty tariffs on Chinese goods if it reverses the measures set to take effect on November 8.
Beijing emphasized that it had informed Washington in advance and that the new controls are consistent with practices in other major economies.
Relations between the two countries have seen a war of words since a September phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which both sides accused each other of escalating tensions ahead of a planned meeting.
China attributes the heightened tensions to a late-September U.S. decision to expand its “entity list” to include Chinese and foreign companies using subsidiaries to circumvent export controls on chip-making equipment and advanced technologies.
Washington, for its part, considers China’s action on critical minerals as the trigger for the crisis, describing the move as “shocking.”
People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, in one of the seven explanatory graphics, said: “The United States has long exaggerated security risks and overused discriminatory restrictions against China,” noting that the U.S. controls a list of over 3,000 items, compared to 900 items in China.
The paper added, “Applying such export controls aligns with international practices,” noting that Washington itself has followed similar rules since the 1950s, particularly to prevent foreign chip companies from selling products to China if they rely on U.S. technology.
In an editorial in the Global Times, also affiliated with People’s Daily, it was stated: “Washington should not be surprised by China’s reciprocal response; the real surprise is Washington’s repeated breaking of promises—a very familiar pattern.”
— Reuters
