China soon roll out new rare earths policy

Amid the ongoing trade war with the US, the Chinese development and reform commission is currently developing new state policies on rare earth metals, and intends to make them public as soon as possible.
The spokeswoman for the Chinese state planning agency NDRC, Meng Wei, did not provide any further details at a Monday press conference.

Beijing’s veiled threats to restrict exports of rare earth metals to the US have been called by many as one of China’s nuclear options in a trade conflict with Washington. The US relies on China for about 80 percent of its rare earths supplies. The metals are used in everything from electric car motors and electronics to oil refining. They are also vital for US national security, as they are used in many major weapons systems.