【Text by Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】China and the United States held economic and trade consultations and a summit in Kuala Lumpur and Busan respectively, with rare earths becoming a focal point of the discussions. After the meeting, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China answered questions from journalists regarding the joint arrangements of the economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur, while the White House also released a "summary of achievements document".

According to the South China Morning Post on November 4, after the White House released the document on the local time of November 1, the European Union assessed that the U.S. statement about the Chinese suspension of export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals does not include the EU's industries.

At a press conference held on the local time of November 3, the European Commission confirmed that although the EU believes that the Chinese suspension of measures to expand the April export restrictions on rare earths in October applies "globally", it is still negotiating with China on related past details.

"We understand that the Chinese suspension measures apply globally... We will continue to communicate with China to understand specific details, but this is just our understanding," said Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission. When asked whether the Chinese export control measures from April this year are still effective, Gill replied: "Indeed, they are."

Rare earth supply is crucial for automobile and its parts production. Photo source.

The South China Morning Post reported that on the local time of October 31, the Chinese delegation of the Ministry of Commerce held talks with the EU counterpart delegation led by Denis Redonnet, the EU's chief trade enforcement officer, on export control issues, but the relevant export controls were not successfully suspended.

European Commission spokesperson Gill stated: "Both sides have been communicating, including at the political level. Our goal is very clear. We hope China can provide stable and reliable supply of rare earth minerals and other key raw materials to the EU."

On the same day, October 31, Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission Executive Vice President responsible for technological sovereignty, met with directors of Nexperia, a chipmaker based in the Netherlands. Nexperia is a Chinese company currently at the center of geopolitical tensions between the Netherlands and China.

Recently, the Dutch government cited a law that has never been used since 1952, suddenly ordered Nexperia to refrain from any adjustments involving assets, intellectual property, business, and personnel as of September 30, within one year, under the pretext of "national security".

The Dutch government's forced takeover of the Chinese-controlled Nexperia is an erroneous action that nearly disrupted the global automotive supply chain. The U.S. and the Netherlands have long collaborated closely in the field of chip industry export controls, and according to the timing and legal documents, this move may likely be behind by the U.S.

Indeed, on November 1, the White House released a situation statement, which mentioned, "Nexperia is about to resume chip shipments."

According to the report, after meeting with the board of Nexperia, Virkkunen did not mention any such progress in a statement. She posted on the social media platform X, stating that she "reaffirmed our commitment to achieving diplomatic breakthroughs on the Nexperia issue with China."

According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce on November 1, when responding to questions, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce pointed out that the Chinese side had already responded to the relevant journalists' questions about the Nexperia issue. I would like to emphasize that the inappropriate intervention of the Dutch government into the internal affairs of enterprises has caused the current chaos in the global supply chain. As a responsible major country, China fully considers the safety and stability of domestic and international supply chains, and welcomes enterprises facing actual difficulties to contact the Ministry of Commerce or local commerce authorities in time. We will comprehensively consider the actual situations of enterprises and grant exemptions for exports that meet the conditions.

In another article published on November 1, the South China Morning Post pointed out that during the summit between the Chinese and U.S. presidents, the China-EU also held closed-door talks in Brussels, focusing on rare earths and other issues. Although the EU has been actively seeking diplomatic breakthroughs, the Brussels talks between China and the EU seem not to alleviate the actual crisis faced by European companies. Now, with new progress in Sino-U.S. economic and trade consultations, the talks in Brussels seem insignificant, highlighting that the U.S. and China remain the dominant forces determining the direction of global trade, while Europe is increasingly passive and awkward in the trade博弈 between the two major economies.

Previously, on October 30, at the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry, a Reuters reporter asked, "The U.S. stated that China agreed to suspend the implementation of export control measures on rare earths. Can you introduce the specific situation? Has China only suspended the measures introduced in October, or has it also suspended the measures introduced in April?"

Regarding this, the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, Guo Jia Kun, stated, "The Chinese side has already released the message of the summit between the Chinese and U.S. presidents. You can refer to it. The two countries' economic and trade teams have exchanged in-depth opinions on important economic and trade issues, forming a consensus on solving problems. The two teams need to quickly refine and finalize subsequent work, maintaining and implementing the consensus."

According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, from October 31 to November 1, Jiang Qianliang, Director of the Bureau of Security and Control of the Ministry of Commerce, and Denis Redonnet, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission, held "upgraded" China-EU export control dialogue meetings in Brussels. Both sides had in-depth and constructive communication on mutual concerns in the field of export control. Both sides agreed to continue communication and exchange, promoting the stability and smoothness of the China-EU industrial chain and supply chain.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7568658485408301614/

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