Bloomberg Surveillance · Thursday, September 24, 2026
Elizabeth Economy argues that the U.S. still possesses critical strengths in its dealings with China, citing a G20 pushback against China's overcapacity exports where China was the sole holdout. She acknowledges that China has leverage due to U.S. dependencies on critical minerals and rare earths, and U.S. requests for help on Iran and Ukraine.
“I think the United States retains some pretty critical strengths. I think we saw, for example, the United States lead a discussion in the G20 that pushed back against China's export of its overcapacity. And the vote came down 19 to 1, with China being the only holdout. So I think they recognize that the United States is still in the game. That being said, we are mired in a war in Iran. China knows it has a chokehold on the United States around critical minerals and rare earths.”
“You know, we're going to China to ask for help, you know, on Iran, on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So we have a lot of asks on the table. And China has probably fewer asks of us at this point, which does give him a little bit more leverage.”