European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has accused Beijing of deliberately creating a near-monopoly in the global supply of rare earth elements, then weaponising the world’s reliance on those chains.
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Addressing the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Monday, von der Leyen made a hawkish return to form, reversing a course of toned-down criticism of China spurred by the return of US President Donald Trump in January.
In two separate speeches in the first two months of the year, she surprised many observers by talking about “deepening trade and investment” with China.
But with Trump in the room on Monday, von der Leyen took aim at China’s policies, reviving some of the aggressive language she has used over recent years, and setting the stage for a showdown at the EU-China Summit in Beijing next month.
“On this point, Donald is right – there is a serious problem,” von der Leyen said at a round-table leaders’ meeting.
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“But we strongly feel that the biggest challenges are not the trade between G7 partners. Rather, the sources of the biggest collective problem we have has its origins in the accession of China to the WTO in 2001.”