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Of all of the tools in China’s trade war arsenal, perhaps its most potent is its grip over rare earths, the materials that underpin technologies ranging from semiconductor chips to F-35 fighter jets.

China flexed that muscle last year after U.S. President Donald Trump unleashed sweeping tariffs on the country. Among other countermeasures, Beijing announced its own rare-earth export restrictions, setting the stage for multiple rounds of high-level negotiations and sharper escalations that ultimately culminated in a one-year trade truce that will expire in the fall.

Of all of the tools in China’s trade war arsenal, perhaps its most potent is its grip over rare earths, the materials that underpin technologies ranging from semiconductor chips to F-35 fighter jets.

China flexed that muscle last year after U.S. President Donald Trump unleashed sweeping tariffs on the country. Among other countermeasures, Beijing announced its own rare-earth export restrictions, setting the stage for multiple rounds of high-level negotiations and sharper escalations that ultimately culminated in a one-year trade truce that will expire in the fall.

It’s a powerful card that is certain to loom over Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. Although the Trump administration has turbocharged U.S. efforts to diversify away from Chinese rare-earth supply chains, experts say that this big push hasn’t yet minimized Washington’s exposure to Beijing. 

“The........

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