US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a recent interview that China allegedly made a “real mistake” when it threatened to stop exports of rare earth minerals to foreign countries as the United States now potentially tries to secure alternative supplies over the next two years, the Financial Times news portal reported on October 31, 2025.
Read also | Trump signs trade, rare earth deal with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi: 5 points
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 two hours of discussion.
“China warned everyone about the danger. They made a real mistake,” Scott Bessent told the news portal. “It’s one thing to put a gun on the table. It’s another thing to shoot in the air.”
Have the US and China reached an agreement?
According to a news portal report, Scott Bessent said both US and Chinese leaders had reached a “balance”, while the Western nation warned that Beijing would not be able to continue using their critical rare earth minerals as a tool.
“There is an agreement that, ceteris paribus, we have reached a balance and we can operate within that balance over the next 12 months,” Bessent said.
Read also | Trump-Xi meeting Highlights: Sino-US deal could be signed next week
He also stressed that China’s influence on the United States would not last more than 12-24 months. “I don’t think they are able to do that now because we have countermeasures,” he said.
Mint had earlier reported that Donald Trump said he had negotiated a one-year renewable deal with China’s Xi Jinping to keep exports of rare earth minerals flowing.
China is the largest producer of rare earth minerals in the world. These rare earth minerals have key technical uses in the production of fighter jets, robots, electric vehicles and other high-tech products. According to earlier reports, China has imposed export restrictions on these minerals from October 9, 2025.
Trump-Jinping meeting
The meeting between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping comes six months after the two leaders imposed a wide range of reciprocal tariffs on each other, fueling a raging global trade war between the United States and other world nations.
Read also | Trump calls Xi’s deal ‘great’, says China will buy US agricultural goods
A tariff truce was later negotiated, after which China took control of exports of rare earth minerals to the United States and other countries around the world.
“I think the Chinese leadership was slightly concerned about the global backlash to their export controls,” Bessent told the news outlet.
Along with talks on rare earth minerals, Trump and Beijing also discussed the war in Ukraine, soybean purchases and a reduction in tariffs on fentanyl, bringing tariffs down to 47% overall from the current 57%.
Trump also announced his plans to visit China in April 2025 for a new round of talks between the two nations.
“I’m going to China in April and he’s going to come here sometime after that, whether it’s in Florida or Palm Beach or Washington, DC,” Trump told reporters on Oct. 30, 2025.
Key things
- Scott Bessent said China had made a “real mistake” when it threatened to stop exports of rare earth minerals.
- Bessent said China’s influence on the United States would not last more than 12-24 months.
- Along with talks about rare earth minerals, Trump and Jinping also discussed the war in Ukraine, soybean purchases and tariff cuts.
