This Thursday, China announced the immediate implementation of restrictions on exports of technologies associated with rare earths, thus reinforcing its regulation in a sector that is central to trade tensions with the United States.
As the world’s largest producer of these minerals, essential for the digital, automotive, energy and defense industries, China seeks to exercise stricter control over a strategic resource.
Rare earths have been a source of conflict in recent trade negotiations between the two countries, with the US accusing Beijing of deliberately delaying the issuance of export licenses.
According to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, new controls require prior authorization to be obtained to export technologies used in the extraction and smelting of rare earthsincluding assembly, tuning, maintenance, repair and modernization processes of production lines.
Furthermore, the ministry announced that Additional restrictions will also be imposed on foreign entities that export products made with rare earths or related technologies that originate in China.
A ministry spokesperson stated that “some foreign organizations and individuals have transferred or supplied controlled products from Chinese rare earths, directly or indirectly, for use in sensitive sectors, such as the military”. This practice, he added, “seriously compromises or poses a potential threat to China’s national security” and has a “negative impact on international peace and stability.”
China’s dominance in the extraction and refining of these minerals gives it a strategic advantage in a context of growing commercial rivalry with the USA.