German Finance Chief Says China Trip Helped Bridge Differences

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said he won assurances from China on maintaining the flow of critical raw materials, laying out what he described as the biggest achievements of his four-day trip to Asia this week.

“The most important point was a clear commitment from the Chinese side on the issue of rare earths and critical raw materials, reliable access and reliable supply chains, and that the Chinese side stands for this,” Klingbeil told reporters in Singapore on Thursday. “That was a very important point, it was publicly promised, and we will remind the Chinese side of this.”

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng on Nov. 17.

Photographer: Maxim Shemetov/AFP/Getty Images

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