USA Rare Earth Rises on China Supply Freeze, Then Retreats

China Rare Earth Group, a state-owned rare earth giant, is in talks to acquire Shenghe Resources, according to two people familiar with the matter. The talks began this year, and China Rare Earth Group wants to take a controlling stake, the sources said. If a deal is reached, Shenghe's holdings in overseas companies would be transferred, including a 3% stake in US rare earth company MP Materials, which would put China Rare Earth Group in the position of investing in MP, whose largest shareholder is the US Department of Defense. A successful acquisition would bring one of China's last major privately owned rare earth mining and refining companies under China Rare Earth Group, ending a decades-long effort to consolidate the sector under state control. Shenghe acquired Australia's Peak Rare Earths last year. According to one of the sources, a deal would make it easier for Shenghe to secure the quotas the Chinese government uses to manage supply. China Rare Earth Group, Shenghe Resources and China's Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.

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Trump and Xi to discuss trade in Washington, with agriculture, energy and rare earths in focus

US President Donald Trump is set to hold trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on September 24, with trade in agricultural goods, energy and rare earths among the key issues both sides have used as bargaining chips in the trade war and which are likely to be raised again. On agricultural goods, one of the major US exports to China worth 29 billion dollars in 2024, China agreed to buy 25 million tonnes of soybeans a year from the United States through 2028, according to the White House, and US officials said China also agreed to buy an additional 17 billion dollars of other agricultural products during Trump's visit to Beijing in May. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on September 3 that incentive measures to promote US agricultural sales to China could be announced. On energy, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, September 15, that energy tariffs could be part of a 30 billion dollar reciprocal tariff reduction package, which was signalled after the May summit but has not yet been implemented. Meanwhile, US energy imports between 2020 and 2024 were worth between 7.5 billion dollars and 12 billion dollars a year. As for rare earths, where China controls production and has restricted exports to the United States, the issue has not been fully resolved. Reuters reported that US officials have demanded China honour its commitment to maintain continuous deliveries of these critical raw materials, and ahead of this summit the United States signalled the possibility of lifting some sanctions while threatening to impose additional ones. Trump said he would consider lifting some sanctions after the visit to Beijing.

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EU Sets October Deadline for China to Rebalance Trade

The European Union is demanding concrete action from China to rebalance trade with the EU, setting a deadline for initial results by this October and warning that it will use every tool at its disposal if there is no progress. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič held a phone call with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on September 17, covering issues including the management of goods exported to the EU, greater market access in China for European companies, and controls on rare earth exports. European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said serious negotiations remain important, but the EU wants to see concrete initial results from the meeting in Beijing in October, which will show whether both sides are moving from words to outcomes. The EU currently runs a trade deficit with China of more than 1 billion euros, or 1.1 billion dollars, per day, prompting the European Commission, as well as Germany, to keep up pressure on China. EU leaders are scheduled to discuss and consider countermeasures to China's trade practices in mid-October. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on September 16 that the trade deficit with China has reached a critical turning point, and that while some see the EU as facing a second China shock, it has already arrived. Šefčovič stressed to reporters that he wants to see a clear signal that negotiations will move toward concrete positive results during next month's visit to China, where discussions will cover ways to increase exports of European goods to China as well as adjustments to customs tariff conditions.

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