China’s ‘Weaponized Negotiation’ Could Backfire, Expert Says

China’s ‘Weaponized Negotiation’ Could Backfire, Expert Says

Beijing recently tightened export controls on some critical rare earth elements, ratcheting up its tariff standoff with Washington. By monopolizing more than 90 percent of global rare earth processing, China has long held these 17 elements as a strategic chokepoint. Analysts say Beijing’s new export-licensing rules—ostensibly applying to all countries, but aimed at the United States—are likely a tactic to pressure Washington into trade concessio…