{"id":4484,"date":"2026-11-15T20:03:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-15T15:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4484"},"modified":"2026-11-15T20:03:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T15:03:47","slug":"trumps-minerals-push-has-yet-to-loosen-chinas-grip-ahead-of-xi-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4484","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s minerals push has yet to loosen China’s grip ahead of Xi talks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

US President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping this week,<\/u> with a key part \u200bof his trade strategy unfinished: securing a homegrown supply of critical minerals to counter Beijing\u2019s dominance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many US mining projects remain years from production \u200cdespite billions of dollars in federal investment by the Trump administration, leaving American manufacturers dependent on Chinese materials essential to semiconductors, robotics, weapons systems and the artificial intelligence boom.<\/p>\n

That dependence puts Trump in an awkward position for trade talks. He can press Xi only so hard on tariffs and export controls without risking access to metals, magnets and chemical compounds that the US does not produce in \u200bsufficient quantities, according to half a dozen analysts interviewed by Reuters.<\/p>\n

Xi has used China\u2019s position as the world\u2019s top rare earths miner as leverage in negotiations. \u200bLast year, Beijing restricted exports of the minerals and magnets, disrupting work at Ford Motor and other US manufacturers. Washington negotiated for continued \u2060access.<\/p>\n

The gap between Trump\u2019s minerals ambitions and the slow pace of execution reflects the difficulty of rebuilding an industry the US nearly abandoned at the end of \u200bthe 20th century, said Samir Kapadia, head of trade at the Washington-based business advisory firm Vogel Group.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now there are more PowerPoint decks than permits, so the question is \u200bhow many of these projects exist only in PDF form and how many are shovel-ready,\u201d Kapadia said.<\/p>\n

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

<\/a>A test of Washington\u2019s negotiation leverage<\/h3>\n

The meeting with Xi, expected on Thursday, will test Trump\u2019s strategy.<\/p>\n

Trump and Xi may agree to extend their existing trade truce, which is due to expire in January and includes export-control waivers for certain critical minerals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese have \u200bbeen using the critical minerals choke collar on the US when they feel like it,\u201d said Rich Nolan, head of the National Mining Association trade group.<\/p>\n

China has said \u200bit restricted the minerals to prevent their use in war. It has also accused Washington of abusing export controls by blocking semiconductor exports to China.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the US has lagged in production. Its manufacturing \u200ccapacity for \u2060neodymium-iron-boron magnets, used in electric vehicles and military equipment, was roughly 4,500 metric tons annually in 2025. That compared with about 210,000 metric tons in China, according to the International Energy Agency.<\/p>\n

Beyond mining, China has spent decades building the processing and refining facilities, technical expertise and manufacturing infrastructure needed to turn raw materials into industrial components.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are we now? Exactly where the Chinese want us: screwed up beyond belief,\u201d said Jack Lifton, an analyst with Technology Metals Research.<\/p>\n

While the Trump administration has moved to accelerate mineral projects, much \u200bof the infrastructure remains years away, with \u200bmines, refineries and processing facilities requiring \u2060a decade or more to come online.<\/p>\n

A $7.4 billion Tennessee refinery for copper, zinc and other critical minerals backed by South Korea\u2019s Korea Zinc is not expected to open until 2030. Rio Tinto and BHP aim to build North America\u2019s largest copper mine \u2014 but \u200bit wouldn\u2019t open until next decade. Last year, Trump\u2019s administration agreed to take an equity stake in Trilogy Metals, which plans \u200bto produce copper in \u2060Alaska starting in 2031.<\/p>\n

Vulcan Elements has begun making rare earth magnets in North Carolina, although its customers have not yet approved them for use.<\/p>\n

Some projects are further along. MP Materials is expanding magnet production in Texas under a multibillion-dollar Pentagon partnership. Nevada\u2019s Thacker Pass mine \u2014 North America\u2019s largest lithium source \u2014 is under construction by Lithium Americas. Production is expected in 2028. Perpetua \u2060Resources plans \u200bto produce antimony \u2014 used to make bullets and armour \u2014 in Idaho by 2029.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s minerals strategy also faces \u200ba political test at home. Democrats\u2019 midterm victories will give them control of Congress next year, and some have questioned the administration\u2019s investments in private companies.<\/p>\n

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, whose department funded multiple minerals \u200bprojects, said last week he is \u201chappy to explain everything we\u2019ve done\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, with a key part \u200bof his trade strategy unfinished: securing a homegrown supply of critical minerals to counter Beijing\u2019s dominance. Many US mining projects remain years from production \u200cdespite billions of dollars in federal investment by the Trump administration, leaving American manufacturers dependent on Chinese materials essential to semiconductors, robotics, weapons systems and the artificial intelligence boom. That dependence puts Trump in an awkward position for trade talks. He can press Xi only so hard on tariffs and export…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4484\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}