'Game recognises game': China borrowed US playbook and is now hitting back at its trade games

China has long criticised the United States for overstepping its boundaries to control foreign companies. Yet this month, Beijing did almost the same thing. To push back against Washington’s trade battle, China is now adopting US-style tactics. The south Asian giant announced a move, similar to the US, under which foreign firms must now get the Chinese government's approval to export magnets containing even small amounts of Chinese rare earth materials or made with Chinese technology. Jamieson Greer, US trade representative, explained, for instance, a smartphone maker in South Korea must also ask Beijing’s permission to sell devices to Australia in case the phones have China-originated rare earth materials. “This rule gives China control over basically the entire global econo