China-U.S. trade war: Beijing's latest moves on ongoing disputes
Updated 22:09, 03-Jun-2019
Zheng Weiyu
["china"]
02:04
For months, the world's two biggest economies have been locked in a trade stand-off. China has reiterated its stance in promoting multilateralism and tried to avoid a trade war that could hurt the global economy, but it still has cards to play if necessary. 
Rare earth, which is not well known to the public before, is considered the key to technological development and vital in making electric cars, mobile phones, and even X-rays.
As the world's biggest supplier of such materials, China exported 80 percent of its rare earth compounds and metals to the U.S. from 2014 to 2017. But last Thursday, Beijing warned that it could cut America off. 
The day after, China announced it would establish a list of "unreliable entities," to protect national security, public interest, and Chinese companies. 
Then came another strong move. A white paper was issued on Sunday, explicitly blaming Washington for the recent difficulties in trade negotiations and clarifying China's position on talks.
The spokesman said: "The white paper stresses that the economic and trade frictions provoked by the U.S. damage the interests of both countries and the wider world. The U.S.-imposed tariffs harm others and are of no benefit to the U.S. itself. They impede mutual trade and undermine market confidence and economic stability. The trade war does not make America great again." 
The disappointment was echoed by the U.S. stock market. Wall Street tumbled last Friday, as investors expressed fears that the ongoing trade war would stymie global economic growth.  It's an impasse many hope to be resolved... sooner rather than later.