After agreeing to shelve the latest restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals to the United States, China also called on the country on October 30 to “seriously comply” with the global nuclear test ban, AFP reported.
This comes after US President Donald Trump said he was ordering the Pentagon to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing. No other details were shared, but if the order is implemented, it will be the first US nuclear test in 33 years, he added.
In particular, Donald Trump announced this before his bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea today. Now, after the two countries announced that trade talks are underway, China has called for the nuclear test ban to be respected.
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Trump says US will resume nuclear weapons testing: How did China respond?
In an official statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kuo Jiakun told the media that the country hopes the US will continue to follow the global consensus on nuclear weapons and take concrete measures to ensure nuclear disarmament.
“China hopes that the United States will seriously abide by the obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and its commitment to the nuclear test ban, and take concrete measures to protect the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system and safeguard global strategic balance and stability,” Guo said, according to AFP.
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US and China reach deal on rare earths after Tump-Xi meeting?
China agreed on Oct. 30 to delay curbs on exports of critical minerals as part of a deal struck between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping during their two-hour meeting today on the sidelines of the APEC 2025 summit in South Korea, according to a Reuters report.
Notably, the deal covers the latest curbs announced by China, while similar restrictions announced earlier in April remain in place, he added.
Rare earths, or critical minerals, contain 17 elements used in products such as automobiles, electronics, aircraft and weapons. China’s large resource deposits have given the Asian economic powerhouse considerable negotiating leverage.
After a meeting with Xi Jinping, Donald Trump said that China had agreed to continue exporting rare earths and the problem had been “resolved”, a little later the Chinese Ministry of Commerce also announced that the export restrictions announced on October 9 would be suspended for one year.
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Will the Pentagon start testing nuclear weapons?
In a post on Truth Social, minutes before his meeting with Xi Jinping, Donald Trump said he had ordered the US military to “immediately” resume nuclear weapons testing after 33 years.
“The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my first term. I HATED it because of the tremendous destructive power, but I had no choice! Russia is second and China is a distant third, but it will be even in 5 years. Because of other countries testing our nuclear programs at the same level, we ordered that we begin nuclear testing. The process will be immediately started. Thank you for your attention! wrote Donald Trump.
However, on his way back to the US, after meeting with Xi, the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One that test sites would be “determined at a later date”, according to a Reuters report.
“With others who are testing, I think it is appropriate that we do as well. The sites for the nuclear tests will be determined later,” he said. It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to nuclear explosive tests conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration or flight tests of nuclear missiles, the Reuters report added.
The United States last tested a nuclear weapon in 1992, and most major nuclear powers, except North Korea, also stopped testing in the 1990s. The last confirmed nuclear tests (apart from North Korea) were conducted by Russia (1990), the US (1992) and China (1996), she added.
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)
Key things
- China has agreed to suspend its latest curbs on rare earth minerals for one year.
- US President Donald Trump told reporters today ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping today that he had ordered the resumption of nuclear testing.
- After the Trump-Xi meeting, China urged the US to abide by the global nuclear test ban.
