The quota, which governs the output of the country’s six main producers, was set at 132,000 tons for this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, compared to 120,000 in 2018. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: China is the world’s largest producer of rare-earth minerals, which are used in products ranging from cellphones to electric vehicles. This is the highest quota since 2014, according to data going back to that year, and may allay fears Beijing would restrict the minerals’ supply. Earlier this year, comments from Chinese officials drove speculation the country could withhold rare-earth minerals from the U.S. as part of the ongoing trade war between the two countries. There has been no official move to restrict them so far, but The Globe and Mail reported in September that the U.S. and Canada were creating a joint action plan to reduce their reliance on China for the minerals. If implemented, it could be an opportunity for Canada’s mining sector to receive investment from the U.S.; Canada is already the top supplier of six of the 35 minerals the U.S. has deemed critical to its economic and national security.