Beijing has warned it will not tolerate the use of Chinese rare earth products to “suppress China’s development,” following reports that the country may restrict exports of the materials to the U.S. as part of an ongoing trade conflict.

Rare earths are used in the manufacture of a wide range of products, including consumer electronics, military equipment and gasoline.

"China upholds the policy of open and cooperative sharing,” Commerce Ministry Spokesperson Gao Feng said Thursday, adding that China, the world’s largest supplier of the minerals, was “willing to satisfy the reasonable demand for rare earths of any country.”

However, Gao said, “If any country wishes to use rare earths exported by China to manufacture products to suppress China’s development,” this would be “hard to accept.”

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