Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to a rare earths facility in China's (Gan-zoe) Ganzhou city has fueled speculation the strategic materials could be used as part of a retaliation measure as Beijing's trade war with the U.S. heats up.
China's Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday that President Xi was accompanied by Liu He, the vice premier who has been leading the Chinese side in the trade negotiations with Washington.
(Gan-zoe)Ganzhou is known for its rare-earths mining and processing industry.
The U.S. relies on China, the dominant global supplier, for about 80-percent of its rare earths imports.