Beijing recently unveiled a significant tightening of its export controls on rare earth elements and associated technologies. This move, announced on Thursday, October 9, 2025, extends China’s regulatory power over these vital materials, which are indispensable for numerous high-tech products. The timing is particularly notable, occurring just weeks before a critical meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, setting the stage for potential geopolitical ramifications.
According to the new regulations from China’s Ministry of Commerce, international businesses will now need special permission to export any product containing even minute quantities of Chinese-sourced rare earth elements. Furthermore, Beijing will introduce strict permitting for the export of technologies crucial to rare earth mining, processing, recycling, and magnet production, reinforcing its control over the entire supply chain.
As a dominant player, China currently accounts for nearly 70% of the world’s rare earth mining and an astounding 90% of global rare earth processing. This unparalleled control over these essential resources has become a central and often contentious issue in the ongoing trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
In response to escalating tariffs imposed by Mr. Trump on various Chinese imports, Beijing has intensified its control over these strategically vital minerals. This has raised significant concerns about potential supply shortages for manufacturers in the United States and other nations. The practical enforcement mechanisms for these new overseas policies remain to be clarified.
These critical minerals are fundamental to a vast array of modern products, from advanced military hardware like jet engines and radar systems to the automotive industry, and a wide range of consumer electronics such as laptops and smartphones.
The Commerce Ministry stated that these new restrictions are designed to “better safeguard national security” and prevent the use of Chinese-sourced rare earths or related technologies in “sensitive fields such as the military.” Beijing alleges that unspecified “overseas bodies and individuals” have illegally transferred rare earth elements and technologies, resulting in “significant damage” to China’s national security.
These latest export curbs were unveiled strategically, just weeks before an anticipated meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. This high-level discussion is set to take place in late October, alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea.
George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group, commented that rare earths will undoubtedly remain a crucial element in negotiations between Washington and Beijing. He suggests that while both nations desire greater stability, the period leading up to a potential final deal between Trump and Xi next year will likely be filled with “negotiation tactics” and “noise.” It’s worth recalling that in April 2025, China had already imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements, following Mr. Trump’s announcement of substantial tariffs on numerous trading partners, including China.
Despite ongoing uncertainties surrounding supplies, China did approve some rare earth export permits in June 2025, indicating a stated intent to expedite its approval processes.