China has assured Germany that it will maintain supplies of vital raw materials and rare earth metals. This is the statement of the Minister of Finance of this European country, Lars Klingbeil, commenting on the results of the 4-day trip to Asia. He was quoted by Bloomberg.
According to him, he has received a clear commitment from the Chinese side, which Berlin will remind Beijing if necessary.
The agency noted that Germany and China are trying to end tensions that have escalated between the two countries in recent months after China tightened export controls and the German Foreign Ministry in turn postponed the country's head of state's planned visit to China.
It was also emphasized that Klingbeil was stingy with details, and therefore it was unclear whether Beijing would fulfill its promises. The latter is especially important because Germany and the European Union have little leverage over China. At the same time, Germany is considered the largest buyer of rare earth magnets from China. And while its exports to the US increased in October and reached their highest level since January, supplies to Germany fell for the second month in a row.
It should also be noted that Klingbeil visited China not only to solve the problem of access to important raw materials. Another task is to persuade China to influence the Russian government on the conflict in Ukraine. However, as Bloomberg writes, the Minister of Finance's appeal was unsuccessful.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Beijing is developing a mechanism to limit the supply of rare earth metals to companies affiliated with the US military.
