China has imposed export controls against two U.S. rare earth producers that are part of Washington¡¯s effort to reduce its dependence on Beijing by establishing an alternative supply chain for the critical minerals.
MP Materials?and USA Rare Earth?have been added to China¡¯s export control list to ¡°safeguard national security and interests,¡± the Commerce Ministry said in a statement Monday.
The decision ends a monthslong lull in China¡¯s use of such restrictions against U.S. companies following last October¡¯s summit between U.S. President?Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In a separate statement, the Commerce Ministry said the move was in response to the Pentagon¡¯s decision this month to add some of China¡¯s biggest companies to a roster of firms it accuses of supporting the Chinese military.
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