The Latest: Trump hosts Central Asian leaders as US eyes sources for rare earth metals Updated 6 mins ago President Donald Trump is hosting leaders of five Central Asian countries at the White House. He's intensifying his hunt for rare earth metals needed for high-tech devices, including smartphones, electric vehicles and fighter jets. Trump and the officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan held an evening summit Thursday. The meeting comes the heels of Trump managing at least a temporary thaw with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on differences over the export of rare earth elements. That was a key point of friction in their trade negotiations. Washington is now looking for new ways to circumvent China on critical minerals.

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