China Widens Rare Earth Export Controls Before Likely Trump–Xi Meeting

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Oct 10, 2025 - 09:54 Updated: Oct 10, 2025 - 00:44
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China Widens Rare Earth Export Controls Before Likely Trump–Xi Meeting

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The Chinese communist regime further expanded export controls on rare earth on Oct. 9, specifically barring defense and semiconductor companies outside China from accessing the critical metals.

Items containing more than 0.1 percent of rare earth ingredients sourced from China will require export licenses, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. The curbs are set to take effect on Dec. 1.

In a separate release, the ministry announced that certain rare earth technology and equipment were added to its export control list.

Later that day, the ministry announced that certain lithium-ion batteries, graphite cathodes, and artificial diamonds would also require approval from Beijing. Additionally, five more rare earth elements—holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, and ytterbium—will be subjected to licensing requirements. These new export controls will take effect on Nov. 8.

Rare earths, a group of 17 elements used in a wide range of products—from electric vehicles to military jets and submarines—have emerged as a major point of contention in the ongoing U.S.–China trade wars.

After decades of subsidies and policy support, China has become a near-monopoly supplier of rare earth, accounting for 61 percent of global extraction and 92 percent of refining production, according to the International Energy Agency.
Facing U.S.-led pressures over the regime’s non-market trade policies, the communist regime has tightened its grip on rare earths in recent years, using these critical metals as leverage in trade negotiations with Western economies.

The new regulations build upon controls introduced in April, which require exporters to apply for special licenses to ship seven rare earth elements, along with magnets made from three of them and other final products.

On Oct. 9, Beijing clarified the targets of China’s export restrictions. In principle, applications from overseas defense companies and entities on China’s export control list will not be approved, the ministry said.

Export applications related to artificial intelligence that have potential military applications will be approved on a case-by-case basis, the ministry said. The same rule applied to the research and development of advanced semiconductors, including 14-nanometer chips or more sophisticated semiconductors, memory chips with 256 layers or more, and the equipment and materials used in their manufacturing and testing.

In a separate statement, the ministry said that technology to make rare earth—from mining, smelting and separation, magnet material manufacturing, and recycling of secondary resources—is prohibited from export without permission.

Technology related to the assembly, debugging, maintenance, repair, and upgrading of rare earth production lines also requires export licenses, the ministry said.

Chinese citizens and companies are banned from providing substantial assistance to overseas rare earth activities, such as mining, smelting, and processing, without Beijing’s permission, it added. These measures take effect immediately.

Beijing’s move came just weeks before an expected meeting between Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. While Beijing hasn’t confirmed the two leaders’ face-to-face meeting, Trump has said that he will sit down with Xi at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.
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Customs data from China indicated a rebound in rare earth magnet exports in recent months. However, foreign businesses have continued to voice their frustration over the difficulties in sourcing rare earth materials from China. A Sept. 17 report from the EU Chamber of Commerce in China said that many European companies, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, are “still experiencing significant” disruptions in rare earth supply.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) weaponization of rare earth has raised alarms in the United States, the European Union, and other nations.

At this year’s G7 summit in Canada, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused the CCP of using its “quasi-monopoly not only as a bargaining chip, but also weaponizing it to undermine competitors in key industries.”
On Sept. 19, Europe’s largest rare-earth magnet production facility opened in Narva, a city in eastern Estonia that borders Russia. The plant, built by Canadian company Neo Performance Materials with the support of the EU funds, is Brussels’s latest efforts to increase “Europe’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness,” the commission said in a statement.

In the United States, MP Materials announced a multibillion-dollar agreement with the Defense Department in mid-July aimed at boosting America’s rare earth production while reducing reliance on China and other nations.

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