Toward Decline
Rare Earths at the Trump-Xi Summit: Relief Without a Resolution
Why it matters
Australia is heavily dependent on Chinese rare-earth exports for defence manufacturing, renewable energy, and critical-technology production. China's April 2025 export controls on medium and heavy rare earths—maintained as a negotiating tool even at the Trump-Xi summit—signal that Beijing will not voluntarily ease supply access through diplomacy, forcing Australia to accelerate sovereign rare-earth mining, processing, and strategic stockpiling or face supply coercion during future crises.
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