By bizn_fun 
In remarks released by the US government, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not mention China by name.
Instead, Vance referred to “foreign supply” of such minerals flooding global markets, making it difficult for other countries with mineral deposits to secure the financing needed to produce them.
“Every single one of us represented in this room has become dependent on arrangements we did not choose, and right now, arrangements that we cannot control,” Vance said.
David Copley, a special assistant to President Donald Trump, said the US intends to “deploy hundreds of billions of capital into the mining sector to get projects going”.
Investments have already been made in companies several companies, including rare earths magnets maker MP Materials and Lithium Americas, which produces material key to rechargeable batteries, he said.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also said that the US, Japan and the European Commission are developing “coordinated trade policies and mechanisms” in order to collectively avoid potential issues with access to important minerals.
The announcements came on the same day that Trump had a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which the US president described as “very positive.”
China has a chokehold on rare earths and has tightened its grip over exports in recent months.
Beijing requires companies in China to get government approval before shipping the minerals abroad.
When the curbs were tightened in October it dealt a major blow to the US, whose industries are heavily dependent on these imports.
The Chinese government soon eased those stricter measures but analysts say it is using its dominance as a key bargaining chip in trade talks with Washington.