China's limits on exports of rare earths minerals Tuesday became the latest trade dispute between China and the United States.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- China and the United States are the world's largest economies and, by some measures, each other's most important trading partners. But it's a rocky marriage.
A dispute over rare earth minerals came into the spotlight Tuesday, as President Obama announced that the United States, Japan and Western European countries would file a trade complaint against China.
But it's only the latest in a series of pending trade disputes between the United States and China that experts say won't be resolved any time soon. Any one of the disputes could damage the economies of both countries as well as the relationship between them.
Here's a rundown of the most important trade disputes.
Rare earths
The United States and other Western economies charge that China is putting unfair restrictions on the exports of rare earths, elements crucial to the making of numerous high-tech products, to give its own manufacturers an edge. Rare earths are also critical to national defense -- used in products from tanks and ships to radar systems and night vision goggles -- as well as green-energy products such as wind turbines and batteries for electric vehicles.
China produces about 97% of all rare earths, although one U.S. company, Molycorp (MCP), is starting production in the United States. But even when Molycorp reaches full production later this year, it will be producing only a small fraction of the output from China.
"We want our companies building those products right here in America," said Obama on Tuesday. "But to do that, American manufacturers need to have access to rare earth materials -- which China supplies." He said China's rare earth restrictions go against the World Trade Organization rules that China has agreed to.
China denies the charges, saying its rules are defensible on grounds of environmental and economic sustainability, and suggests there would be consequences if the United States presses the case.
"Past experiences have shown that policymakers in Washington should treat such issues with more prudence, because maintaining sound China-U.S. trade relations is in the fundamental interests of both sides," said China's state news agency Xinhua in a commentary Tuesday.
https://money.cnn.com/2012/03/13/news/international/china-trade/index.htm?iid=HP_River