An opinion article from Bloomberg claims, "Although the United States was once a major supplier of rare earths, China has been the world's primary source since the 1990s. And that makes them more than just a commodity; they're a test of how China's vast economic and diplomatic ambitions bear on one another. As recent events demonstrate, they're also a window into understanding that, even in the face of obstacles; China won't give them up so easily. As recently as 2013 China provided 86 percent of the world's rare earths supply and, especially over the past several years, Chinese officials have made no secret of their plans to use their accumulating monopoly power." 

The New York Times reports, "In the latest outburst of violence in China's troubled Xinjiang region, security forces shot and killed six men on Monday after they attacked police officers not far from the Silk Road city of Kashgar...The authorities said the men had explosives 'on their bodies,' but they did not provide further details. There were no other casualties reported...In recent months, more than 100 people in Xinjiang have been killed during clashes between Chinese security forces and ethnic Uighurs, a largely Muslim, Turkic-speaking people who have long bridled under Beijing's governance of the region." 

According to Reuters, "China will not follow the path of 'Western colonists' in Africa, its foreign minister said during a five-nation tour of the continent, parrying criticism that his country's hunger for resources has led to one-sided policies and damaging projects. China is Africa's biggest trade partner, and has sought to tap the region's rich resources to fuel its own economic growth over the past two decades. But Beijing's involvement has been called 'neo-colonial' by some African leaders, who fear projects bring little benefit to local people, with materials and even labor being imported from China." Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, "'we absolutely will not take the old path of Western colonists, and we absolutely will not sacrifice Africa's ecological environment and long-term interests.'" 

"China on Monday hit back at the Philippines for criticizing Beijing's ongoing reclamation project in the disputed South China Sea, saying that its actions were within the scope of Chinese sovereignty. China lays claim to almost all of the entire South China Sea, believed to be rich with minerals and oil-and-gas deposits. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims. The United States has called on China to stop the land reclamation project that could be large enough to accommodate an airstrip. Beijing has called those remarks 'irresponsible', signaling that it would firmly reject proposals by any country to freeze any activity that may raise tension," reports Reuters.