President Donald Trump listed rare earths, fentanyl, soybeans and Taiwan as the U.S.’s top issues with China, underlining the divisive topics the two sides plan to tackle at the negotiating table as a fragile trade truce nears its expiration.
"I don’t want them to play the rare earth game with us,” Trump said on Air Force One on Sunday as he headed back to Washington from Florida. Days earlier, the U.S. leader threatened an additional 100% tariff on Chinese products after Beijing vowed to exert broad controls on the minerals.
Trump also said the U.S. wanted China "to stop with the fentanyl,” a reference to his accusation that the Chinese government has failed to curb exports of the drug and its precursor chemicals, contributing to the American opioid crisis. Another key demand was for the world’s No. 2 economy to resume soybean purchases.
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