Overview
- Beijing on October 9 expanded rare‑earth export controls, adding covered elements and requiring licences for magnets and some semiconductor materials that contain even trace amounts of China‑sourced content or technology.
- Washington recently widened its Entity List and tightened chip export limits while imposing levies on China‑linked vessels, and Beijing responded with charges on U.S.-owned, operated, built or flagged ships.
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent labeled China’s rare‑earth measures a “substantial unprovoked escalation,” reflecting sharper rhetoric as both sides trade blame for the latest flare‑up.
- Bessent and Chinese Vice‑Premier He Lifeng held a video call on Saturday and are expected to meet in Malaysia this week to try to ease tensions ahead of a possible Trump–Xi encounter at the APEC summit in South Korea.
- President Trump threatened an additional 100% tariff on China before signaling it might not be sustainable, while analysts say his personal control could temper escalation even as China leverages rare‑earths and signals readiness for deeper decoupling.