BEIJING — President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in Beijing in May 2026. The White House published a fact sheet describing a new "constructive relationship of strategic stability" between the United States and China.

The meeting followed a period of trade disputes, which began on April 2, 2025, when Trump announced a schedule of global tariffs. China was subjected to a 145 percent tariff under this announcement. In response, China imposed a 125 percent tariff on U.S. goods and implemented export controls on rare earth elements.

Within one month of the initial Chinese export controls, shipments of rare earth magnets from China decreased by 74 percent year-over-year. Automobile manufacturing operations in the U.S., Japan, and Europe reduced or halted production following the reduction in rare earth magnet shipments. In October 2025, China expanded its regulations governing rare earth exports, requiring foreign companies to obtain approval before exporting magnets containing rare earth materials sourced from China or produced using Chinese technology.

Trump and Xi had also met in South Korea in the fall of 2025. China leads global production for 30 of 44 critical minerals with available estimates and holds an average market share exceeding 70 percent for strategic minerals. China manufactures 93 percent of global rare earth magnets. Most minerals mined outside of China are transported to China for refining, processing, and manufacturing.

Global rare earth mine production increased from 110,000 tons in 2014 to over 390,000 tons. The U.S. Department of Defense stated that Chinese companies operated at a financial loss to decrease global competition in the rare earth market. New nickel and cobalt production sources have become operational in Indonesia. The U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, and new mineral processing and refining facilities in Japan and South Korea were developed to supply U.S. supply chains following recent U.S. legislation. Electric vehicles utilize quantities of cobalt, lithium, and nickel.