Beijing, Feb 4 (PTI) China, which holds a vice-like grip over the critical minerals, on Wednesday called for “jointly” keeping the supply chains stable and secure ahead of US President Donald Trump’s key meeting in Washington to discuss steps to bypass Beijing’s chokehold over the rare earths.
All sides have a responsibility to play a constructive role to maintain stability and security of global critical mineral industrial and supply chains, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here, striking a measured tone on the meeting, set to be attended by officials of 50 countries, including India.
The meeting is convened by the Trump administration to rebuild the supply chains to reduce dependency on China.
“On the proposal between the EU and the US, let me stress that China maintains that countries need to follow the principles of market economy and international economic and trade rules, step up communication and dialogue, jointly keep the industrial and supply chains stable and unimpeded, and advance the steady growth of the world economy”, he said.
The meeting is seen as a joint global response to stiff restrictions imposed last year by China, which accounts for about 70 per cent of global rare earth mining and nearly 90 per cent of their processing.
The minerals are critical for manufacturing electronics, automobiles, wind energy, and defence equipment and a host of modern gadgets.
Beijing halted the exports of the key elements to the US, India and many other countries last year, resulting in disruption of the supply chains of the critical materials.
Trump also has pulled back on high tariffs as China negotiated a quid-pro-quo deal to resume rare-earth supplies to the US, lifting the ban on exports of semiconductor chips, besides lowering tariffs.
China also restricted the exports of the rare-earth metals to India, resulting in shortages in automobile and other industries.
Last December, China said it would approve the export of its rare-earth metals for civilian use, responding to a question about India’s persistent calls for Beijing to lift curbs and resume the export of precious metals needed to manufacture a host of modern products.
As long as the export is for civilian use and complies with regulations, the Chinese government will approve the application in a timely manner, another Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said to a query on resuming supplies to India.