They’re at it again. China and Japan are frenemies, trading partners and uneasy neighbors with a tortured and bloody history they’re still working through.

China is opening an anti-dumping investigation into Japan over a chemical used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, it announced on Wednesday.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday she would meet her counterparts in the United States next week to discuss rare earths supplies, and repeated Tokyo's condemnation of China over its latest export controls.

China’s warning to Japan that it could choke off supplies of rare earths, its favorite weapon in trade conflicts, targets a persistent vulnerability among Japanese manufacturers after more than a decade of Tokyo trying to reduce reliance on its rival.

China has banned exports of some rare earth elements and other items to Japan that could be used for military purposes, straining already tense relations between the two countries following the Japanese prime minister’s recent remarks on Taiwan.

Takaichi has said her government abides by the three non-nuclear principles, but hasn’t been clear on whether that commitment will remain unchanged.

It has also rolled out export bans and a trade probe, piling pressure on Japan, amid rising tensions Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

China’s access to Japan’s coveted industrial-use goods – especially a critical chipmaking ingredient – may face hurdles if Tokyo imposes export restrictions in the event of a prolonged political dispute, though trade is holding steady for now, analysts and a trade organisation said.