Despite geopolitical tensions, China’s rare earth producers have profitable first half

China’s rare earth producers have reported or anticipated hefty first-half profits, with Beijing’s use of the strategically critical minerals as leverage in trade relations with Japan and the United States not appearing to impede normal activity.The geopolitical factor – US President Donald Trump announced more than US$2 billion of domestic mining investment on Friday, widely viewed as diversifying the country’s rare earth supply chain away from China’s near-monopoly – has helped drive up product prices and also the valuations of listed Chinese firms.Shenzhen-listed China-rare-earth-resources-and-technology" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="181968" data-entity-type="organization">China Rare Earth Resources and Technology saw its first-half net profit surge 46.53 per cent year on year to 237 million yuan (US$35.1 million), the company said in an exchange filing on Friday.