"We're moving a lot of assets away from the Indo-Pacific theater, and most importantly for Beijing, they are not in the 'eye of Sauron' right now," Czin, former director for China at the National Security Council said, making a "Lord of the Rings" reference to the Dark Lord's omniscient gaze. Then there's the rare earth card, as Beijing announced further export controls on critical minerals shortly before Trump's last meeting with Xi, and faced no retribution from Washington, according to experts such as Jude Blanchette, the distinguished Tang Chair in China Research and Director of China Research Center for the research group Rand. The planned March 31 to April 2 summit between Trump and Xi, which would have marked the first in person meeting between the leaders since the Supreme Court decision, was pushed back by six weeks because of the Iran war, according to White House officials.
Author: Selina Wang
Published at: 2026-03-25 23:55:36
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