President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signing a trade deal in Tokyo on Oct. 28, 2025. Photo by KIYOSHI OTA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

As President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared for their Thursday meeting in South Korea, trade talks between Washington and Beijing had fallen into a familiar pattern.

Trump’s tariff threats pushed China to the negotiating table; Beijing countered with trade restrictions on critical minerals; Washington raised tariffs again, and on and on.

It seemed like a tit-for-tat cycle of doom — but Trump’s strategy, including international deals announced just this week, is forcing Beijing’s hand.

China’s suffocating monopolies on critical minerals are a potent economic weapon, but one with a limited shelf life.

Cri

See Full Page