Illustration: Wenjing Yang for Bloomberg
Xi Is Never Giving Up His Newfound Leverage Over Trump
By weaponizing rare earths, Beijing is using the same tools Washington once deployed to cement its postwar supremacy.
When US-China trade talks broke down during Donald Trump’s first term, Xi Jinping sought inspiration at a memorial commemorating the Communist Party’s so-called Long March that eventually helped secure its victory in the country’s civil war.
“This is a new Long March, and we must set out again!” Xi declared to cheering onlookers during the May 2019 visit, widely seen as a rallying cry in the US trade war.