China Adopts America’s Own Trade Tactics to Wage Unfair Economic Warfare

When China accuses the United States of overreaching with extraterritorial trade demands, it conveniently forgets that it has now embraced the very tactics it once condemned. In a brazen move this month, Beijing expanded export rules on rare earth elements—critical components of modern technology—mandating foreign companies seek Chinese government approval to export magnets containing even trace amounts of China-originated rare earth materials or technology. This policy means a South Korean smartphone manufacturer must get Beijing’s permission to sell products containing Chinese rare earths to allies like Australia. As U.S. trade officials warn, this move hands China a chokehold on the...