US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a recent interview, said that China has allegedly made a ‘real mistake’ threatening to shut off the exports of rare earth minerals to foreign nations, as now the United States will potentially try to secure alternative supplies in the next two years, reported the news portal Financial Times on 31 October 2025.
Bessent’s comments come after US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping met in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, where the leaders met for less than a two-hour discussion.
“China has alerted everyone to the danger. They’ve made a real mistake,” Scott Bessent told the news portal. “It’s one thing to put the gun on the table. It’s another thing to fire shots in the air.”
Did the US-China reach a deal?
According to the news portal’s report, Scott Bessent said that both the US and Chinese leaders have reached an ‘equilibrium’ while the Western nation warned that Beijing will not be able to keep using their critical rare-earth minerals as a tool.
“There’s an agreement that, ceteris paribus, we have reached an equilibrium, and we can operate within that equilibrium over the next 12 months,” said Bessent.
He also highlighted that China’s leverage over the United States will not last more than a 12-24 month period. “I don’t think they’re able to do it now because we have offsetting measures,” he said.
Mint reported earlier that Donald Trump said that he negotiated a one-year extendable deal with China’s Xi Jinping to keep the rare-earth mineral export flowing.
China is the biggest producer of rare earth minerals in the world. These rare-earth minerals have key technical utilisation in making fighter jets, robots, electric vehicles and other high-tech products. According to the earlier reports, China imposed its export restriction on these minerals from 9 October 2025.
Trump-Jinping Meeting
The US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping meeting comes six months after both leaders executed a heavy scale of reciprocal tariffs on each other, fueling the raging global trade war between the United States and other world nations.
Later, a tariff truce was negotiated, after which China exercised its control over the rare-earth mineral exports to the United States and other world nations.
“I think the Chinese leadership were slightly alarmed by the global backlash to their export control,” Bessent told the news portal.
Along with the talks over rare-earth minerals, Trump and Jinping also discussed the Ukraine war, Soybean purchases, and tariff cuts on fentanyl and the overall tariff drop to 47%, compared to their current 57% levels.
Trump also announced his plans to visit China in April 2025 for a new round of talks between the two nations.
“I’ll be going to China in April and he’ll be coming here sometime after that, whether it’s in Florida, Palm Beach or Washington, DC,” Trump told reporters on 30 October 2025.
Key Takeaways
- Scott Bessent said that China has made a ‘real mistake’ threatening to shut off the exports of rare earth minerals.
- Bessent said China’s leverage over the United States will not last more than a 12-24 month period.
- Along with the talks over rare-earth minerals, Trump and Jinping also discussed the Ukraine war, Soybean purchases, and tariff cuts.
