China approves some exports of rare earths ahead of US talks

Beijing says it granted approval to some applications for the export of rare earths, a move that could ease tensions before trade negotiations between the US and China next week.

The Chinese commerce ministry confirmed the approval of the applications without specifying which countries or industries were covered, even as it noted growing demand for the minerals in robotics and electric vehicles. The ministry will continue to review and approve compliant export applications, according to a statement on Saturday.

The confirmation comes days after the US and Chinese presidents spoke, following which Donald Trump said that there "should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products." Delegations from Beijing and Washington are scheduled to meet in the UK to conduct trade negotiations on Monday.


China granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three US automakers, Reuters reported on Friday. The commerce ministry also said earlier Saturday it will speed up approvals for qualified rare earth exporters to Europe.

Trump's comment came one day after a rare call with Xi aimed at resolving trade tensions that have been brewing over the topic for weeks.

At that time, Trump said there had been "a very positive conclusion" to the talks, adding that "there should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products."

"We're very far advanced on the China deal," Trump told reporters on Friday.

The countries struck an agreement on May 12 in Geneva, Switzerland, to roll back for 90 days most of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. Financial markets that had worried about trade disruptions rallied on the news.