US-China trade war's shift to export controls is music to Beijing's ears

South China Morning Post

4 hours ago

Two days of talks in London between
the United States and China have underlined that tariffs are no longer necessarily the primary theatre of operation in the trade war. The action has now shifted to the far more difficult issue of export controls, primarily on
rare earth exports from China and
technology exports from the US. That's good news for China.
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Although details are lacking, the London negotiations
resulted in a framework that purports to make at least some progress on the nettlesome export restrictions. The amorphous nature of export controls will provide ample room for obfuscation and backsliding.
The London meetings were precipitated by rising consternation on both sides over export restrictions that threatened the tentative trade truce
agreed last month in Geneva . China failed to loosen its grip on the export of rare earth materials needed for a wide range of advanced manufacturing, breeding nervousness in the US over the prospect of factory closures and
diminished defence capabilities
The US, for its part, has continued to ratchet up restrictions on China's
access to the technologies central to China's ambition to be a global AI leader. This intensifies China's apprehension over what it sees as US determination to block its rise.
The trade war will rumble on in spite of the framework agreed in London, and as it does, export restrictions will be an increasingly important pressure point each side will try to leverage. Although export controls can take various forms, including outright bans, a more common approach is to institute
a licensing system , which requires explicit approval for cross-border shipments of the product in question.
03:36
China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war
China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war