US-China rare earth clash 2.0? Fragile truce tested as tit-for-tat moves return

Beijing’s latest restrictions on US Rare Earth companies, imposed in response to the Pentagon’s designation of leading Chinese firms, are testing the durability of the fragile US-China truce, analysts said.China’s export controls, targeting 10 US entities including national giants MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, mark one of the most significant escalations since Washington and Beijing reached a temporary truce last October in Busan – an understanding that was reaffirmed during the recent summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing last month.“Beijing’s new critical mineral export restrictions underscore how fragile the bilateral truce is,” Wendy Cutler, senior vice-president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told the China-morning-post" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="12558" data-entity-type="organization">South China Morning Post.