earths, a critical sector that China has long dominated. The deals with Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia differ in size and substance and it's too early to assess their tangible impact. But they all include efforts to diversify access to the minerals that have become essential for advanced manufacturing, from electric vehicles to smartphones. The agreements, which aim to lock partners into trading with the US, are a clear bid to reduce dependence on China, ahead of a key meeting with its leader Xi Jinping.

They could eventually challenge Beijing's stranglehold over rare earths, but experts say it will be a costly process that will take years. "Building new mines, refining facilities, and processing plants in regions such as Australia, the United States, and Europe comes with much higher capital costs, stricter environmental regulations, and more expensive labour and energy inputs (compared to China)," Patrick Schroder, senior research fellow at the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House wrote in an editorial this week. It's not clear yet if the $550bn US investment Japan had previously agreed to will be part of the rare earths deal. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is expected to flesh out those details with Japanese companies during his upcoming visit. But it's a turning point step in the US-China rivalry.

Beijing controls the processing of almost all the world's rare earths, which has given Xi powerful leverage in the ongoing trade war with Washington. Chinese export controls have choked supply of rare earths recently as the two countries try to nail down a deal spanning a range of issues, from tariffs to the sale of TikTok's US operations. The controls have also raised familiar concerns across manufacturing hubs in the US, Europe and Asia – a reminder of how vulnerable global supply chains are to the rocky US-China relationship.

Before Trump even travelled to Asia this week, he clinched an $8.5bn deal with Australia, promising industrial co-operation and joint investment to build processing capacity for rare earths outside China. (BBC)