By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Friday said that his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at APEC summit in South Korea later this month, may not take place after Beijing reportedly sent letters to several countries informing them that it will impose export controls on rare earths.
Trump in a lengthy social media post on his Truth Social stated “Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China.”
He said, “Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would “clog” the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China. We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.”
US president said that the US-China relationship over the last six months has been a “very good one” and that the latest move by the country has come as a surprise to him.
He stated that China should not be allowed to hold the world captive. “But that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the “Magnets” and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least.”
Trump warned Beijing that the America too has monopoly positions, that are much stronger and far more reaching than China.
“I have just not chosen to use them, there was never a reason for me to do so — UNTIL NOW!” he remarked.
Trump said that he has not spoken to the Chinese President about it, adding the move came as a real to not only him but all other leaders of the free world. He also asserted that there seems to be not reason to meet Xi now.
“I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” he said.
Trump warned that he will be forced to financially counter the Chinese move.
“For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two. I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration,” he added.
The development came days after reports claimed that China has sought guarantees from India that the heavy rare earth magnets it supplies will not be re-exported to the US.
Beijing had agreed to resume rare earths supply to New Delhi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China to attend the SCO Summit.
China has sought assurances that the rare earth magnets it will supply are not redirected to the US, before commencing the shipments.
