U.S. President Donald J. Trump stated earlier on Truth Social that “some very strange things are happening in China,” claiming that the country “is becoming very hostile and sending letters to nations around the world announcing plans to impose export controls on every aspect of production related to rare earths—and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China.”

President Trump added that he had planned to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two weeks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea, but that “now there seems to be no reason to do so,” noting that his administration is considering a “massive increase in tariffs on Chinese products entering the United States.”