US-China Trade War Escalates with Rare Earths; Trump Softens Stance: ‘No Intent to Harm China’

China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the US’s tariff threats as a ‘typical double standard,’ saying that ‘making threats with high tariffs is not the right way to deal with China.’ President Trump, in a post on the Truth Social platform on October 12, appeared to soften his stance, urging all parties not to worry about China and mentioning Xi Jinping. He said Xi is just ‘in a bad mood… He doesn’t want his country to be in a recession, and neither do I. The US wants to help China, not harm it.’ Vice President JD Vance took a tough stance in an interview with Fox News, saying the US-China competition ‘is resulting…