EU to host Chinese officials for rare earth talks, says European Council president
Workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province on Dec 30, 2010. (File photo: Chinatopix via AP)
KUALA LUMPUR: A Chinese delegation will head to Brussels in the coming weeks for talks on export curbs Beijing has imposed on rare earths, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Monday (Oct 27).
China, the world's top producer of rare minerals crucial to the auto, electronics and defence industries, announced earlier this month new measures to limit the elements' export.
The move has sent ripples across the world, prompting United States President Trump to threaten 100 per cent tariffs on imports from China.
Costa said he discussed the issue in a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia.
The top European official told reporters that "we are very concerned about the trade relationship with China", particularly the export controls on critical raw materials.
"A high-level delegation from China is going to Brussels in the coming weeks, and we hope to address this in the proper way," he said.
Costa did not specify what actions the European Council could take to counter China's curbs, and said he hoped that the planned visit "could overcome these problems".
The European Union says the new Chinese controls have forced some of the companies to halt production.
"With China, we want to have good trade relations. But in fact, we have some problems that we raised and we need to address," Costa said.
"China knows very well what kind of problems we are facing and what China needs to do to overcome this situation."
