China will prioritize domestic demand for rare earth but will meet other countries' reasonable demands, Chinese media reported on Tuesday citing a state planner official.
The official from the National Development and Reform Commission said that although China would give priority to domestic producers, it would be willing to fulfill other countries' requests if they were reasonable. However, he did not explicitly state if it will restrict rare earth exports to the United States as a countermeasure, according to Xinhua.
The news comes after the Chinese Global Times newspaper reported earlier in the day that China is looking into restricting rare earth exports, including tungsten and molybdenum, to the US. The Chinese outlet noted that the restrictions may signal the beginning of Chinese countermeasures on US products.
