The first thing after Trump wakes up, is not to look at stocks, but to anger social media "thousand words long", emotions almost out of control, and even the resentment of the Nobel Peace Prize missed out.
The trigger for this "emotional storm" was China's announcement of export controls on key rare earth technologies. It was not ore or tariffs, but a major move aimed at core aspects of rare earth smelting, separation, and purification.
At the same time, a thoughtful “rule battle” began, and China, in the most familiar way to the United States, paid tribute to one of the answers it most did not want to hear.
"Breaking the defense"
Trump’s emotional out-of-control is not surprising, but the outbreak, indeed, is somewhat “stricken”, he posted several posts on social platforms, describing China’s rare-earth technology control as “extremely abnormal and hostile behavior.”
Even linking it to the ceasefire he promoted in the Middle East, suggesting that he “should have won the Nobel Peace Prize,” was not only emotional but logical, as if the world was deliberately embarrassing him.
Looking closely at his remarks, there are actually two "pain points" hidden behind his emotions. First, he always thought that his "peaceful mediation" on the international stage should be recognized, and now he is unwilling to win the Nobel Prize. Second, China's precise shot this time completely disrupted his expectations for the rhythm of the Sino-US game.
From the trade war to the containment of science and technology, Trump was once full of confidence, but now he is countered by China with the reason of "national security" invented by himself. The psychological gap can be imagined.
Even more striking, in the same passage, he claims that “the United States has a stronger monopoly” and acknowledges that “we’ve never really used these tools,” a front-and-back contradiction that exposes his lack of clarity about the reality of the supply chain.
The United States may have rare-earth resources, but in the metallurgy and separation of these key technologies, obviously still far behind China, Trump's "breakdown" response, in turn, let the outside world see a fact: the real weakness, not in economic data, but in the technological lifeline.
U.S. media did not give him a face, CNN and Politico pointed out that Trump forced to link China's technological control with the Nobel Prize "logically chaotic and seriously emotional."
There were even analysts who said his performance this time was “more like a candidate out of control, rather than a man who could lead the country,” and it was obvious that China’s blow was not only accurate, but also loud.
Rare soil controls
China's invitation, not a temporary initiative, but a thoughtful "tooth and teeth", for a long time, the United States has frequently used the "Export Management Regulations", on the basis of national security, the inclusion of Chinese enterprises in the entity list, even in third countries using U.S. software or equipment transactions will be controlled.
The so-called "long-arm jurisdiction" has become a standard for U.S. sanctions, and China now offers similar rules in the field of rare earth, both in terms of mutual operation and a fair legal response.
This is also the first time that China has explicitly invoked the Export Control Law in the field of rare earths and implemented technology export restrictions on the grounds of national security. Not only that, but China has also extended the scope of control to the entire global supply chain, which is very clear.
No matter where you are in the world, as long as you use China’s rare earth technology, you get our censorship, this “global coverage” means is precisely a tribute to America’s “long-arm jurisdiction.”
Why rare earth is a pain point, because it is not only a small material in mobile phones, but also a key element of F-35, Patriot missiles, new energy vehicles, high-end electronics.
Especially rare earth permanent magnets, without it, the U.S. military's high-end weapons are basically "laying", the U.S. although there are mines, such as California's mountain mine, but no mature separation smelting ability, in the short term want to get rid of China's rare earth supply, is almost impossible.
Data shows that China controls 80% to 90% of the world's rare earth smelting capacity and has absolute say. The United States has tried to build an "alternative supply chain" through Japan, Australia and other countries.
But these countries either have insufficient reserves or are too expensive to shake China’s dominance at all, and this control is one of the heads of the American rare earth myth.
More importantly, this is not an emotional rebound in China, but a centralized use of a legal weapons system, from the Export Control Law to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.
From "national security" to "long-arm counterattack", every action is carried out under the system of international law. It is both precise and legal, completely breaking the logical hegemony of the United States of "I can, you can't".
Rules of War.
China this time, obviously not only to respond to the United States, but also to the world to show: the times have changed, the rules no longer listen to only one country, in the past, the United States launched unilateral sanctions, allies will basically cooperate, and this time, after China implemented control of rare earth, the "friends circle" of the United States is unexpectedly quiet.
For example, the chairman of the "Special Committee on China" of the U.S. Congress, Mr. Mueller, immediately shouted to take retaliatory measures against China Airways, and even suggested suspending Boeing's sales license.
However, there has been little response to these voices at home and abroad. Traditional allies such as Europe, Japan, and South Korea have shown a rare "calm" and are more in private contact with China rare earth companies in an attempt to reach long-term supply agreements.
A number of European companies are accelerating contracts with China to supply rare earth to avoid future collapse from China-U.S. tensions, Bloomberg said that capital markets responded more honestly than politicians.
Just after Trump spoke to impose tariffs on Chinese commodities, the three major indices of the U.S. Stock Exchange responded to the fall, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 market value evaporated hundreds of billions of dollars, investors are clear, now the global supply chain is not you want to break, the forced unlocking will only move the stone to knock your feet.
In addition, China's counter-measures do not only stay in the field of rare earths. Recently, the Ministry of Transport announced an additional port fee on American goods, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also strengthened sanctions against foreign interference.
This shows that China is building a systematic countermeasures toolbox rather than temporary responses. Every step reminds that reciprocal countermeasures have become the new normal.
From a more macro perspective, this clash around rare-earth is actually a miniature of the transition of international rules from “American exceptions” to “multipolar co-government.”
Trump’s fierce reaction, not only an outburst of personal emotions, but also a typical reaction when the old unilateralism order was challenged, but the roar was shaking, the reality was cold, and as more and more countries began to understand and use “rules” to defend their own interests, America’s “counting” logic, too, gradually failed.
China's "shock-a-shock" not only precisely hit the U.S. technology, but also broke the myth of unilateral sanctions, Trump's whisper, although remarkable, but showed behind it, a kind of anxiety and powerlessness about the change of reality.
The dispute over rare earths is just the beginning. The real contest is a deep game around rules, supply chain and strategic endurance. In the future competition, it is no longer about who has the louder voice, but who knows better how to build order and control the rhythm.
In the multi-polar today, the emotion alone cannot solve the problem, the wheel of history has begun to rotate, and the broken response of the old era will only be crushed by it more and more lightly.
Source: Rare-earth export control, China successively launched 2025-10-10 11:40·Global Times