Amid the intense rare earth elements battle between the United States and China, the upcoming meeting between President Trump and Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takashi has attracted significant attention. Strengthening rare earth cooperation between the U.S. and Japan is likely to be one of the topics discussed by the two leaders.
According to reports from Nikkei News, George Glass, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, stated at the Mount Fuji Dialogue on Saturday (October 25) that with China expanding its export controls on rare earth products, a portion of Japan’s promised $55 billion investment in the U.S. “will be used to revitalize and develop America’s mining and ore processing industries.”
Glass criticized China’s widespread export controls on rare earth and related technologies, calling this move “another ploy to strangle and control global supply chains.”
The U.S. ambassador to Japan also mentioned that over 70% of the U.S.’s rare earth imports come from China, and the U.S. is fully reliant on imports for at least 15 key minerals.
“The good news is, the U.S. and Japan are working to find solutions to this unsustainable situation,” he said, referring to the $55 billion investment included in the trade agreement reached with the U.S. by Japan in July. He mentioned that part of these investments will be used for developing mines and carrying out ore processing in the U.S.
President Trump is scheduled to participate in the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Malaysia on Sunday (October 26), and he will arrive in Japan on Monday (October 27) to start a three-day visit and meet with Sanae Takashi. U.S. officials stated that during his Asia trip, Trump will seek to sign economic agreements and important mineral deals with trade partners.
On Saturday, Takashi had a phone call with Trump. She informed him that Japan is an indispensable partner for the U.S. in its strategic dealings with China.
President Trump praised Takashi while on Air Force One en route to Malaysia. He told reporters, “I hear a lot of great things about her. I think she will be fantastic. She’s a friend of Abe, who is a great guy, a fantastic guy. You know the former Prime Minister Abe is also a friend of mine.”
“I look forward to meeting with her,” Trump said.
A reporter told Trump that Takashi was reportedly considering purchasing Ford F-150 trucks from the U.S. Trump seemed unaware of this beforehand and responded, “That’s great. Those trucks are fantastic. She has good taste; they are best-selling trucks.”
The reporter also mentioned that Takashi may eventually attempt to renegotiate with the U.S. Trump replied, “She might, and I’m very open to it…Our relationship with Japan is excellent, and we will continue to have a very good relationship with her. So let’s see what happens.”
Japan had previously experienced the bitterness of Chinese rare earth exports ban in 2010. Following a heated territorial dispute, China imposed a ban on rare earth exports to Tokyo. Although the ban only lasted for about two months, it was enough to prompt the world’s fourth-largest economy to change its supply chain security strategy. Since then, Japan has not only stockpiled, recycled, and promoted alternative technologies but has also heavily invested in rare earth projects outside China, especially in Australia’s Lynas Corporation. Lynas is the largest rare earth producer outside China.
During the Mount Fuji Dialogue held on Saturday, some experts expressed concerns about China’s export controls and warned of escalating risks in economic engagement with China.
Matthew Goodman, a senior researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, described Beijing’s actions as a “constraint” on the global economy. He emphasized that this constraint is “relatively new.”
He stated that so far, China has mainly focused on restricting market access for foreign companies but is now using its control in exports to “cut off other countries’ channels for obtaining these critical mineral resources, which is something new.”
“These restrictions are very broad,” warned Naoko Munakata, a professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo. She stated that China has elevated the “weaponization of economic dependence to a whole new level.”
Victor Cha, Chairman of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, suggested that Western countries should form a “collective deterrent” to counter Chinese coercion in critical minerals and other issues.