to a Chinese rare earths company this week is being widely read as an obvious threat that Beijing is standing ready for action.
"We should firmly grasp the strategic basis of technological innovation, master more key core technologies and seize the commanding heights of industry development," Xi said during the visit, the official Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday.
"Rare earth is not only an important strategic resource, but also a non-renewable resource," he added, in comments likely to further fuel speculation.
However, analysts say China appears apprehensive to target the minerals just yet, possibly fearful of shooting itself in the foot by hastening a global search for alternative supplies of the commodities.
Xi's inspection tour "is no accident, this didn't happen by chance," said Li Mingjiang, China programme coordinator at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.
"At this moment, clearly the policy circles in China are considering the possibility of using a rare earth exports ban as a policy weapon against the US."
The United States last week threatened to cut supplies of US technology needed by Chinese telecom champion Huawei, which Washington suspects is in bed with China's military.
The US move has fanned speculation that Xi could impose retaliatory measures and in an indication of the importance of rare earths to the US, Washington did not include them in a tariffs increase on Chinese goods this month.
China has leverage
China occupies a commanding position, producing more than 95 percent of the world's rare earths, and the United States relies on China for upwards of 80 percent of its imports.
Rare earths are 17 elements critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and televisions to cameras and lightbulbs.
That gives Beijing tremendous leverage in what is shaping up largely as a battle between the US and China over who will own the future of high-tech.
"China could shut down nearly every automobile, computer, smartphone and aircraft assembly line outside of China if they chose to embargo these materials," James Kennedy, president of ThREE Consulting, wrote Tuesday in National Defense, a US industry publication.
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