"Certain Amount of Rare Earth Exports Approved"
China's "economic heavyweight," Vice Premier Hu Lipeng of the State Council, began his visit to the United Kingdom on June 8, returning to the negotiating table with the U.S. trade delegation just one month after their previous talks.
According to foreign media reports on the same day, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the previous day that "Vice Premier Hu Lipeng will visit the United Kingdom from June 8 to 13 at the invitation of the British government, and during this period, will hold the first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade negotiation mechanism with the United States."
On June 6 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump stated via social networking service Truth Social that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer plan to discuss a trade agreement with the Chinese delegation at the London talks in the United Kingdom.
The trade agreement mentioned by President Trump refers to the high-level U.S.-China trade deal reached in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 10-11. Under this agreement, both countries agreed to lower tariffs on each other by 115 percentage points for 90 days, and China agreed to lift non-tariff measures it had implemented in response to U.S. tariffs.
However, after the agreement, the United States accused China of violating the deal by not lifting restrictions on exports of critical minerals and rare earth elements. In response, China argued that the United States was continuing its own control measures against China, leading to difficulties in subsequent negotiations. On June 5, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the issue in a phone call and agreed to resume negotiations.
Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Commerce stated that the rare earth export permits, which the United States raised concerns about, are being granted conditionally. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce explained on the ministry's website the previous day, "Rare earth-related items have dual-use properties for both military and civilian purposes, and export controls on these items are a method commonly accepted internationally."
The spokesperson added, "As a responsible major power, China has fully considered the reasonable needs and concerns of various countries in the civilian sector, reviewed applications for rare earth-related export permits in accordance with regulations, and approved a certain number of applications that met the requirements. China will continue to strengthen the approval process for applications that comply with regulations." The spokesperson further stated, "China intends to enhance communication and dialogue on export controls with relevant countries and is willing to promote trade that complies with regulations."
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