China rattles trade war sabre, puts rare earths squeeze on bargaining table

In what could a major escalation in global trade tensions, China is preparing to use its rich resources of rare earths minerals to strike back at tariffs from the United States. 

Rare earths are a critical factor in everything from high-tech consumer electronics to military equipment and already the prospect that they might become a new bargaining chip in the trade war has seen the value of companies trading in the resource rocket. 

ABC's Peter Ryan speaks about the potential escalation in trade tensions with London analyst Russ Mould of AJ Bell.