Bessent Criticizes China’s Rare Earth Export Controls

Welcome to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, the US Treasury Secretary warns that China's weak economy aims to drag others down, starting with its rare earth export controls. Meanwhile, the US trade representative hints at counter measures and tariff hikes depending on Beijing's next moves. The Chinese economy is doing very poorly, and maybe they're trying to take focus off of that. And China's recent moves are pushing the country's relations with the US and European countries down the road. We take a closer look at a roundup of the latest trade tension developments. The Epic Times is facing coordinated threats from pro-CCCP actors both in New York City and Taiwan. We have details on the most recent attacks. Japan's vote to confirm a new prime minister has been delayed until at least October 20th after the ruling coalition fell apart. Can newly elected ruling party leader Sai Takayichi still become prime minister? Louisiana is cracking down on foreign AI threats. The state is banning certain Chinese AI tools in schools and state agencies to protect students and Americans data. [Music] US Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says China is trying to hurt the world's economy with its sweeping rare earth controls. He calls it a sign of how weak the country's economy is. The Financial Times published his remarks Monday evening. Bessent went on saying that China is in the middle of a recession or even depression and the Chinese regime wants to quote pull everybody else down with it. But Besson warns that if the global economy were to slow down, China will be hurt the most. Stock markets in Asia, the UK, and Europe tumbled following Besson's accusation against Beijing. Last week, China announced sweeping export controls targeting a wide range of rare earth products. China dominates rare earth refinement globally. These metals are critical to semiconductors and defense manufacturing. The sudden restrictions quickly spark protests from many governments including the US and the European Union. President Trump vowed to impose 100% tariffs on China for that starting November 1st. But it's not set in stone. Bessent Monday morning told Fox Business that Trump may wait and see what's coming out of the meeting between him and Chinese regime leader Xinping in South Korea later this month. On Tuesday, US Trade Representative Jameson Greer said the Trump administration scheduled a time for the meeting without providing further details. We don't know for sure if the meeting will actually happen as tensions between the two countries loom, but Greer's remarks are the strongest indication so far. Beijing hasn't confirmed she's trip and canled hotel bookings reportedly for she's visit. What's more, Besson analyzed what are behind China's latest moves in the Fox News interview. Take a look. One, that the Chinese economy is doing very poorly and maybe they're trying to take focus off of that. Uh two, uh China as opposed to the the United States, the United States is pushing for peace in the world, China is financing war. Three, maybe it was a mistaken attempt to try to gain leverage before the two leaders meet in Korea in October. And I can tell you trying to get leverage in front of a meeting with Donald Trump is a bad idea. It was a miscalculation, but we are communicating now. Bessant also pointed to significant division within the Chinese regime, saying a low-level CCP official may have rolled out the restrictions without TE's approval. Watch. I believe that that the president thinks that this may have been, you know, from a lower level official. The Chinese system is quite brittle. So this may not have come from Xi Jinping himself. This may have come, you know, from a Chinese hardliner. They have hardliners on their their side too who are always trying to undermine the relationship. We have reported that she may have lost a significant bit of his power with analysis of unusual signs from Beijing and insider sources from the Chinese system. And now the US Treasury Secretary is saying someone can direct the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to issue sweeping restrictions on China's biggest leverage, rare earth, without she's consent. Some US experts don't necessarily believe this is true. entities Paul Grainy tapped Adam Savit, director of China Policy Initiative at America First Policy Institute for his insights. Do you buy this excuse, Adam, that the that the Treasury Secretary has laid out here, or is this perhaps the Communist Party looking for a way out of its latest trade escalation? I I do not buy it. I mean, I I agree with Secretary Bessent that the Chinese system is brittle. It probably was a decision by Shei to put these uh export controls, these export uh licensing on the rare earths into place. Uh he thinks it's the right time to strike. As your report just noted, uh the Apex summit in Korea was coming up. This really shook things up regarding that. Perhaps gave China some more leverage going into that um uh that meeting. And also, this comes on the heels. Two weeks ago, the United States Commerce Department put into place new regulations that would designate the subsidiaries of any Chinese company on what's called the entity list. These designated uh companies that are tied to the CCP and the People's Liberation Army. So, all of their subsidiaries would also be put on the list. That was a big move by our commerce department. So, a lot of China's experts are seeing this as sort of a tit for tat on that level. The Trump administration is holding carrots and sticks at the same time, responding to Beijing's latest move. It has expressed a willingness to work with China. But the administration also warned that tariff hikes and Washington's own trade restrictions could affect China depending on Beijing's next moves. That's what the US trade representative told CNBC earlier on Tuesday. The Financial Times reported that the US had prepared counter measures in case no agreement was reached. One possible measure will require software exporters to obtain licenses before shipping products to China. It's a move that could significantly impact China's economy. The high seas are now a key front in the trade war between the world's two largest economies. The USA and China began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms today. Here are the details. The US and China are charging additional tit fortat port fees on ocean shipping firms in the latest escalation of their trade war. These charges will affect vessels transporting everything from toys to crude oil. China has already begun collecting the fees from ships that are US-owned, operated, built, or flagged. However, Chinese built vessels are exempt. According to state media, exemptions also apply to empty ships entering Chinese shipyards for repairs. Meanwhile, the US will begin collecting its fees on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Trump administration set out a plan to target China linked ships in a bit to weaken Beijing's dominance of global shipping and boost American ship building. A prior investigation under former President Joe Biden found that China uses unfair practices to control the maritime, logistics, and ship building sectors, clearing the way for the new penalties. One analyst said Chinese state-owned shipping giant Costco could be hit hardest, potentially absorbing nearly half of the estimated 3.2 billion in fees by 2026. Despite the turmoil, shares in Costco rose around 3% in early trading on Tuesday. The company announced a plan to buy back shares worth around $210 million to protect its value and reassure investors. US China trade tensions are heating up again. To start things off, Washington and Beijing slapped tip fortap port call fees on each other's ships. The move significantly impacts the trade volume between Asia and North America. Entities Flora Hua has more. The new US policy took effect on Tuesday. It was designed to deter customers from using Chinese ships. The move is an attempt to challenge China's dominance in ship building while boosting America's domestic ship production. China strongly opposes the move matching US port call fees with its own in order to target vessels tied to the US, but last year's data revealed that over half the world's commercial ships are made in China, while US vessels accounted for less than 1%. Therefore, US policy will have a greater impact on China than vice versa. However, China isn't backing down. It sanctioned five US subsidiaries of a South Korea ship builder. It's a decision that went into effect immediately. The move escalated tensions between Beijing and Washington and even impacted Beijing's relations with its neighbor South Korea. It's worth noting that President Trump and Chinese regime leader Xinping are expected to meet in South Korea for their first bilateral meeting in less than 3 weeks. Casey Fleming, CEO of Black Ops Partners Corporation and National Security Advisor shared his insights on how South Korea and its companies may react to Beijing's threats. That's difficult because the the South Korean uh government and the South Korean economy is definitely tied to the US, but they're also more and more tied to the CCP. So, it's going to be very delicate for them. Um they might go in halfway. They may stage their response. Um but right now they in their mind they have to serve two masters. The other thing is inside of South uh South Korea um they've moved pretty down pretty far down the road on the on the communist dial. Besides the US, tensions between China and European countries are also rising after Beijing wrote out its rare earth restrictions. The EU trade chief Tuesday called Beijing's restrictions unjustified. He says it's causing many problems for the European economy. The Danish foreign minister followed up saying that the move has already forced some European factories to halt production. He emphasized how this policy is causing real economic harm and hurting trust. Now EU officials are calling for tougher measures to respond to China's move and they are looking to discuss solutions at the upcoming G7 meeting. Flora Hua, NT News. gold prices hit a record high today amid rising trade tensions between the US and China. Silver reaching an all-time peak as well. In an ongoing series of threats from the Chinese Communist regime, the Epic Times received an envelope containing a white powder seemingly intended to intimidate the publication. The envelope also included a copy of the Epic Times newspaper and a small clear Ziploc bag with the powder. The paper alerted the New York Police Department last week, which took the items for testing. Federal authorities have also been notified, but the results are still pending. The envelope had official Chinese postal markings, suggesting it either came from China or was returned from there. This comes at a time when proc actors have been ramping up efforts to target and threaten the Epic Times. And in Taiwan, prosecutors there have exposed a Chinese espionage plot targeting the Epic Times. The Chinese intelligence officer posing as a reporter for the Epic Times allegedly tried to recruit military personnel and gather defense intelligence on the island. The bureau chief said the alleged spy leveraged widespread trust built by the Epic Times in Taiwan. The woman has been identified as a member of China's armed police in Ceni Province. Prosecutors said she used fake names and claimed to work for the Hong Kong Bureau of the Newspaper. Authorities said she met a former Taiwanese naval officer through a dating app in 2023, who later introduced her to a Taiwanese missile brigade officer. Both men are accused of sharing non-public military information in exchange for cash payments. The Epic Times condemned the impersonation, calling it part of Beijing's wider campaign to discredit and infiltrate the publication. Japan will have to wait a little longer to confirm its next prime minister. The decision has been pushed back until at least October 20th after Comedo's sudden decision to leave the ruling coalition. Earlier this month, Japan's former economic security minister Sayia Takayichi was elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. According to tradition, the head of the ruling party usually becomes the country's prime minister. Takayichi is known as a close ally of former prime minister Shinszo Abbe Tekachi's victory initially sparked celebration in financial markets. However, Kato, which had been in coalition with the LDP for 26 years, unexpectedly announced its withdrawal. This weakens the party's seat count in both houses of the Japanese Parliament and creates uncertainty about Tekachi's path to becoming prime minister. In Japan, the prime minister is officially chosen through a vote by both houses of parliament. On Tuesday, Tekachi held a meeting with party members to unite and strengthen support within the LDP. Meanwhile, Kato, now moving into opposition, says it will work to bring together centrist forces. According to Akao Yaya, former Taipei bureau chief of the Sen Kai Shambun, Kito's sudden shift came after a meeting with China's ambassador to Japan. Yayita believes the real reason for the move wasn't official matters like corporate political donations or vote coordination during parliament elections. Instead, he points to Tekki's strong pro- US and anti-China stance, which conflicts with Kato's traditionally pro-China position. The largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, is now hoping to unite the opposition and put forward a candidate for prime minister, aiming to change the government. However, the three major opposition parties have clear disagreements on key issues like the economy, national security, and constitutional reform. As a result, the vote to confirm Japan's new prime minister that was originally planned for October 15 has been postponed with the earliest possible date now expected to be October 20. Louisiana is taking a stand against foreign AI threats. Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order on Monday banning Chinese AI tools like Deep Seek from schools, universities, and state agencies. The order targets AI systems run by hostile foreign governments like the Chinese Communist regime. It references national security and privacy concerns. Landry pointed to programs like Deep Seek, which federal investigators say can spread propaganda and transfer Americans personal data to China. The governor said the move is about putting Louisiana and the US first by protecting students, state agencies, and sensitive data from potential spying. He said, quote, "As technology advances, so do the threats." Adding that this order is designed to safeguard both people and national security. Coming up, ahead of a planned meeting between President Trump and Chinese Communist Leader Xiinping later this month. A major CCP plenum looms amid intense power struggles. Meanwhile, Beijing has arrested dozens of Christians and pastors. And what does Washington and Beijing's tit fortat economic threat signal about the threat of war? And what message is the Chinese regime sending? A national security analyst breaks it down. They're trying to shake the world and let them know that there's a new world order on the horizon. And that new world order includes the CCP at the center of that spiderweb. More on that after the break here on China in Focus. Welcome back to China in Focus. I'm Tony Meyer. A meeting between President Trump and Chinese Communist Party leader Xiinping is expected at the end of this month at the Apex Summit in South Korea. What has been happening and what will be happening in China leading up to the event. And Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has more. Before the Apex Summit happens at the end of the month, there will be a large CCP central committee meeting happening next week and they'll discuss their 5-year plan for the poor state of China's economy among other issues. But it's at these meetings where we may see a power play. In 2022, former CCP leader Hujin Tao was removed from a central committee meeting. This comes as the CCP has arrested dozens of pastors and churchgoers at the unregistered Zion church over the weekend. The Zion Church is a Christian organization and it says across five provinces in China, over 30 of its church leaders and members were detained or disappeared. Worship venues were raided and family members of the church were harassed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday condemning the CCP for targeting the church, saying in a statement, quote, "This further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches. In order for a church to become official in China, the CCP requires them to submit to party doctrine. Meaning that the party requires them to abide by party doctrine first and holy scripture second. The CCP has waged war against faith groups for a century with party leaders launching campaigns of suppression to control religious communities in China as it takes anything spiritual to be a direct threat to its absolute power. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News. Markets are still holding their breath to see what's next after Washington and Beijing traded economic threats over the weekend. How does this latest dispute fit into the larger picture that China is a growing threat to the free world? We spoke with national security analyst Casey Fleming, who's the CEO of Black Ops Partners and author of the forthcoming book, The Red Tsunami: The Silent Storm Killing Your Freedom for Insights. Casey Fleming, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Thanks for having me. Now, there seems to be a lot happening between the US and China on the economic front or there was about to be. You saw, you know, China escalating rare earth export controls followed by a ton of posts from President Trump on Truth Social. Eventually, he boiled it down to don't worry about China. Xiinping just had a bad day or a bad moment. And then you see some softening, if you will, from China on that. But what do you make of all of that exchange? What I make of it is that the CCP showed us their true colors. The CCP over the past three years has been moving to a war footing and they know that we need these rare earths for everyday life as well as military and all that. So the next step is full-blown kinetic and uh conventional warfare. So for somebody who's been following all this and working through the intelligence for many many years, this is the final stage. So they revealed their their true hand and their true colors and then they realized, "Oh my god, the world started to react and said, wait a minute, this is a war. This is an act of war." So they said, "Okay, are we ready to to fight the war or do we need to back off of this and dial it back a little bit?" So they as well as uh uh Trump decided to to uh to battle it back and to dial it back a little bit. On that note, you have already seen a lot of news that China's economy has not been doing well. We never saw that pass a post-pandemic rebound that was expected in the economy. So you have, you know, the likes of Treasury Secretary Scott Essence saying maybe this was a low-level CCP official doing something unbeknownst to Xi Jinping because a lot are pointing to China's economy relies a lot on exports. So seems like those 100% additional tariffs that Trump was threatening would really hurt China's economy to then hurt, you know, China's war footing. Did you know China overplay its hand in your view here? I think Xiinping overplayed their hand there. Nothing goes on in China. Nothing happens without Xiinping's approval. So a low-level person making some kind of errant statement is not even possible in a Chinese communist regime. Never going to happen. So I think they overplayed their hand. the world reacted and they said, "Oh my god, we're supposed to be in the background doing these proxy wars, seeing how everybody reacts so we can actually plan the war and have our own element of surprise on that." So, uh, I believe that they absolutely overplayed their hand. Now, also with the Trump Truth Post over the weekend was again the question of whether or not Trump would meet with Xiinping face to face on the sidelines of the upcoming apex summit in South Korea. Now along with that we just saw that China had sanctioned five US subsidiaries of a South Korean ship builder company called Hanway Ocean which is escalating tensions again between all the parties here. Why would China do something like that right ahead of this Apex summit? Because China is exerting what they think that they have is their soft power and their power on the planet. Uh they think that they're in parody now with the United States. They are equal to our hard power and our soft power throughout the world. And that's what you're seeing happen. They're trying to shake the world and let them know that there's a new world order on the horizon. And that new world order includes the CCP at the center of that spiderweb. That's all for today's China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusd.com. We'd love to hear from you. Round the clock original news coverage. Visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow. [Music]