The Sino-US negotiations had just made progress when Basenett returned home late at night to give Trump a message. On the third day of the Sino-US negotiations, Ukraine released a piece of news, cleanly exposing America's intentions to China.

US Treasury Secretary leaves early

Recently, the second round of Sino-US negotiations continued. The two sides began negotiations at around 10:30 am and continued until around 5:30 pm in the afternoon. After a brief rest, the Chinese and American delegations continued their discussions late into the night, finally reaching a framework agreement for the deal, but the specific details have yet to be finalized, as negotiations entered the third day.

Treasury Secretary Basenett left the negotiation site at 10:00 pm, citing conflicting travel arrangements, he must leave London early to return to the United States, leaving only Commerce Secretary Rutnik and Trade Representative Greer to continue negotiating with the Chinese side. According to Rutnik, both sides need to report the negotiation results to their respective leaders, and believe that a reply will come soon.

This inevitably raises doubts that Basenett, who went ahead, may have returned to the US to report to Trump. As is well known, the focus of this round of Sino-US negotiations is chips and rare earths. The director of the White House Economic Council had previously warned China before the negotiations, stating that only if China allows large-scale rare earth exports, the US will relax chip controls.

Sino-US negotiation location

Based on the information temporarily disclosed by both sides, it seems that China and the US are willing to make concessions, and there is a high probability of reaching an agreement on relaxing chip controls and expanding rare earth exports. However, at the same time, the Ukrainian "Kyiv Post"爆出 shocking news, claiming that the Trump administration has repeatedly requested that the Ukrainian government ensure that under no circumstances can China intervene in the Ukrainian rare earth market.

On one hand, requiring China to expand rare earth exports, while on the other hand pressuring Ukraine to exclude China from post-war rare earth development. This dual-track strategy of surface negotiations and behind-the-scenes containment exposes the contradictory stance of the US towards China in the field of critical minerals, which is both dependent on and encircling China, as well as the global new trend of rising resource nationalism.

Ukraine is rich in mineral resources

The US rare earth reserves account for only 1.5% of the global total, and its supply chain is heavily dependent on external sources, especially China's refining and processing capabilities. Ukraine, with its abundant rare earth reserves, is becoming a key battleground for major powers' resource competition in the post-Ukrainian-Russian conflict era.

Previously, Trump took advantage of the situation to force Ukraine to sign a mining agreement in exchange for military aid, targeting Ukraine's rare earth resources. Ukraine has more than ten thousand mining sites covering 117 out of the world's 120 most commonly used metals. After the end of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine will inevitably develop its rare earth resources as an important resource to revive its economy.

Ukraine may offer rare earth mining rights as compensation to attract China to participate in its post-war reconstruction. The US must prevent China from cooperating with Ukraine to further consolidate its monopoly over rare earths. In other words, Ukraine's rare earths are one of the important trump cards for the US to摆脱dependence on China. Trump must ensure the priority position of US capital in the post-war development of Ukraine's resources.

Sino-US first round of negotiation scene

In the London negotiations, the US side showed unprecedented flexibility, considering loosening control over chip and aircraft engine sectors. These concessions were conditional on China easing rare earth exports. However, at the same time, the US opened a "second front" in Ukraine, attempting to cut off China's link to future rare earth supply sources.

This indicates that the US hopes to alleviate supply chain crises in the short term through negotiations, but in the long run, the US has already prepared to build an "exclusive circle" supply chain excluding China. Ukraine's remarks exposed the US's contingency plan, and also indicate that a reshaping of the 21st century resource order is being played out simultaneously on multiple global stages.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7514597622443803162/

Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author alone. Please express your attitude by using the [like/dislike] buttons below.