Former President Donald Trump argued that the United States wields greater influence over China in trade disputes, highlighting aircraft parts as a critical bargaining chip against Beijing’s reliance on rare earth minerals.
“We have much bigger and better cards than they do,” Trump said Monday, warning that if he chose to use them, it could “destroy China.” He stressed, however, that he had opted not to play those cards.
China, which dominates roughly 90% of global rare earth production, curtailed shipments of rare-earth magnets to the U.S. in April, escalating tensions. The restrictions were later lifted following a temporary truce with Washington, and exports surged to a six-month high in July. According to the Wall Street Journal, a senior Chinese trade envoy is expected in Washington this week, signaling the potential revival of negotiations.
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Trump credited China with recognizing the strategic importance of rare earths early on, saying the nation had “intelligently” built a near-monopoly in their mining and processing. But he emphasized that the U.S. also holds leverage. “We’re heavily invested in magnets now, primarily from a national security perspective,” he said. “But we also have something incredibly powerful — airplane parts and Boeing jets.”
The former president claimed that Beijing had 200 planes grounded due to lack of access to U.S. parts. “I sent them everything they needed so their planes could fly,” Trump added. “I could have withheld them, but I didn’t — because of the relationship I have. And now they’re in the air.”
Despite ongoing friction, Trump described his rapport with Chinese President Xi Jinping as strong, noting that they had spoken recently. He suggested he may visit China in the near future, potentially after a preliminary agreement is reached. Analysts point to October’s APEC summit in South Korea as a possible setting for progress.
Chinese delegates landed in London last June to begin trade negotiations.
Feng Chucheng, a founding partner of Beijing-based Hutong Research, said China’s economic recovery depends heavily on resolving its standoff with the U.S. “Without a long-term settlement with the United States, business confidence cannot meaningfully recover in China,” he noted.
Trump also reiterated that tariffs remain Washington’s most potent weapon, floating the possibility of levies as high as 200% if China fails to deliver sufficient rare earth supplies. Yet he suggested tensions had eased, saying, “I think the issue is behind us.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. is accelerating efforts to secure its own rare earth supply chain. Trump said domestic production of magnets could be up and running within a year. MP Materials Corp., currently the only U.S. rare earths producer, expects to begin commercial magnet output later this year, with Pentagon-backed expansion plans set to ramp up through the decade.