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The US president has struck a number of deals in his tour of Asia this week.<\/p>\n
Since coming back to the White House earlier this year, President Donald Trump has made rare earth minerals one of his top priorities.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s focused on securing enough supply for the United States economy.<\/p>\n
In March, Trump went as far as signing an executive order, where he invoked wartime powers to increase the production of rare earths.<\/p>\n
And this week, he signed several agreements with a number of Asian countries, in the hopes of gaining access to the minerals.<\/p>\n
This is all to counter China\u2019s global dominance in this sector and Beijing\u2019s recent restrictions on rare earth exports.<\/p>\n
So, why are these minerals so crucial for the US economy? And can Trump break China\u2019s monopoly?<\/p>\n
Presenter:<\/strong> Bernard Smith<\/p>\n Guests:<\/strong><\/p>\n Brian Wong \u2013 Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong.<\/p>\n Gracelin Baskaran \u2013 Mining Economist and Director of the Critical Minerals Security program at Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n Huiyao Wang \u2013 President and Founder of Center for China and Globalization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published On 29 Oct 2025<\/span>29 Oct 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n