White House Economic Council Director: The US government is considering removing some export controls in exchange for China's further relaxation of rare earth export controls

The morning before the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, Hassett, director of the White House Economic Council on CNBC, gave an interview. He revealed for the first time that the US government is considering removing some export controls in exchange for China's further relaxation of rare earth export controls. Hassett said that this round of talks "will not be long, but it will be a strong handshake"; if China allows large-scale exports of rare earths, "all US export controls will be relaxed immediately" (anything from the US will be eased). The two sides will then continue to deal with some "smaller matters".