China's commerce minister has accepted an "urgent" invitation to Brussels, the EU's trade chief Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday, as the bloc looks to unpick Beijing's restrictions on rare earth mineral exports and defuse a row over Dutch-based chipmaker Nexperia.

The European Union is working on trade options to counter China’s planned export controls on critical raw materials should the bloc fail to reach a diplomatic solution with Beijing.

The EU's top economic official said the European Commission was considering countermeasures in response to Chinese curbs on rare earth exports, according to an interview with Handelsblatt published on Wednesday.

The Trump administration is considering broad export controls on China, targeting products made with US software in response to Beijing’s recent rare earth export restrictions.

Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves announced plans to explore rare earth mineral production at sites in Michigan and Minnesota amid China's export controls.

China's exports of rare earth magnets fell in September, reigniting fears that the world's top supplier could wield its dominance over a component key for U.S. defence firms and makers of items from cars to smartphones as leverage in trade talks.

President Donald Trump called China's rare earth export controls a 'bad moment' as both countries navigate tensions over critical defense materials, and potential tariff increases.

President Donald Trump listed rare earths, fentanyl, soybeans and Taiwan as the US’s top issues with China, underlining the divisive topics the two sides plan to tackle at the negotiating table as a fragile trade truce nears its expiration.