China has given a new twist to the export control of rare earths and its related technologies, one of the great points of friction with the United States in the trade war unleashed after the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House. This Thursday, Beijing presented reinforced measures to restrict trade in rare earths and the tools used for the extraction and processing of these critical resources over which China has almost monopolistic dominance in the global supply chain.
One of the approved regulations is specifically aimed at foreign companies. From now on, they will need approval from Beijing to export rare earth magnets and other derived materials that contain minimal traces (less than 0.1% of the value) of these Chinese elements, even if the products have been produced abroad.
The new regulations, released by the Ministry of Commerce, create for the first time a formula similar to that used by Washington to block semiconductor-related exports to China from third countries, and has been designed to give Beijing greater control over critical elements in the manufacturing of technological and defense products, from chips to fighter jets.
The decision, according to the ministry’s announcement, has been taken by the Chinese Government “to safeguard security and national interests” and will apply to “dual-use” items, civil and military, in line with previous measures with which it had already been tightening trade in critical resources in recent times. especially in the wake of the trade war.
The measures come at a delicate time, pending a meeting at the end of the month between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, scheduled to reduce tension between the first and second economies on the planet.
In addition, Beijing also approved this Tuesday a new measure aimed at controlling the export of Chinese technologies related to the mining, smelting, separation and manufacturing of rare earth magnets and also those linked to its production and processing lines in factories.
Exporters of these types of technologies and tools must also obtain a license. And the rule will apply, in addition to national operators, to “Chinese citizens, legal entities and unincorporated organizations, as well as all natural persons, legal entities and unincorporated organizations within the territory of China,” the ministry note details.
The new measures hit a determining sector in the geopolitics of the 21st century, in which China has become the absolute leader. It has the resources, tools and knowledge to exploit it. In 2024, the People’s Republic was responsible for 69% of the global mining of the 17 chemical elements classified as rare earths, according to the United States Geological Survey; It has 40% of the world’s proven reserves and controls, on average, 80% of the different links in the global value chain, according to China Mining Magazine.
The measure is expected to irritate Trump, whose obsession with regaining control over the extraction and processing of rare earths has been present in much of his foreign policy, from Greenland to Ukraine, which have reserves of these elements.
Analysts see the move as a negotiating strategy by Beijing ahead of the expected meeting between Trump and Xi that will take place at the end of October in South Korea. The meeting was announced by the Republican magnate after their telephone conversation in mid-September. After her, he also assured that they had reached an agreement so that the popular Chinese video app TikTokwhich was subject to a Congressional ban, can continue operating in the United States.
Rare earths have been one of Beijing’s strongest weapons against Trump’s tariff blows. The communist authorities are aware of their bargaining power. After Washington’s cannonade, Beijing responded in April with restrictions on the export of seven of these elements and their derived products, a blow that helped to force a trucewhich is still standing. China has committed during the rounds of trade negotiations with the United States that have taken place since May to facilitate export licenses for these elements.
