During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington in September, US President Donald Trump urged him to lift export restrictions on Japan, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

According to sources, at last month's meeting in Washington, the US leader “raised Japan’s grievances over Chinese export restrictions – including on rare earths – that have squeezed Japanese industries.” The sources also noted that Trump “framed the Chinese measures as a threat to American industries reliant on Japanese suppliers.”

Nevertheless, the sources noted that the Chinese leader showed little interest in Trump’s proposals. He emphasized that Beijing’s dispute with Tokyo should be viewed separately from US-China relations and should not affect them.