U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to secure rare earth supply deals across Asia will ultimately weaken China’s dominance in the global supply chain for critical minerals — but analysts said the buildup will take years. Over 10 days, Trump cemented deals with Australia, Malaysia, Cambodia and most recently, Japan, to bolster the supply of rare earths and other critical minerals that are crucial for the making of batteries, automobiles, defense systems and computing chips. The flurry of deals — part of Washington’s bid to counter Beijing’s chokehold on the sector — comes ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi ... (full story)