Keith Bradsher

China does not want Europe to raise the tariffs.

It does not want Europe to close the hybrid loophole.

So China is putting a lot of pressure on Europe.

And then finally, China has leaned towards Russia on the Ukraine issue.

China wants Europe to distance itself from the United States in NATO.

So China has a lot of incentives to...

be very tough with Europe and has been very tough with Europe this year.

Am I wrong about that?

Short term, China does have a very strong position.

But there are real long-term dangers to the Chinese economy in pursuing this strategy.

So many multinational companies have come to rely on China for part or all of their supplies of many components, many products that you see in stores all over the United States.

And as China shows that it's willing practically overnight to halt these supplies, China is damaging its reputation as a reliable supplier.

European and American companies are frantically searching for ways to buy more from Southeast Asia, from India, and from elsewhere.

Hmm.

So there is a long-term interest in China in not taking this too far.

In fact, it's already gone far enough that they are worried in China that they may be losing their appeal as a destination for foreign investment.

Who wants to build another factory in China if you're not going to be able to send the goods from that factory out of China?

That is exactly right.

China is not backing down in any way.

China is all in on restricting rare earths.