China Suspends Export Controls on More Critical Minerals

“The changes would make it easier for American firms to obtain key minerals, delivering on what the White House said the two countries had agreed to at last month’s summit.

 

The Chinese government announced on Sunday that it would suspend export controls for a year on five critical minerals that are needed to manufacture certain semiconductors as well as explosives, armor-piercing ammunition, batteries and nuclear reactors.

 

The announcement, by the Ministry of Commerce, addressed a key difference between the statements issued by the Chinese government and the White House following a summit in South Korea on Oct. 30 between President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader.

 

After that meeting, China said that it had agreed to a yearlong suspension of a series of export control regulations on rare earth metals and on equipment for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors and solar panels. The Ministry of Commerce followed through on Friday by suspending these regulations.

 

However, China’s post-summit statement made no mention of easing separate controls that the ministry had imposed in December last year on five other critical materials, which are not rare earth metals. The White House statement said that China had also agreed to issue so-called general licenses, making it easier to obtain these other minerals as well.

 

There was some confusion after the summit about what exactly the two sides took away from the discussions. Mr. Trump had said that rare earths would no longer be an issue, while Beijing seemed to be more measured by enacting single-year suspensions.

 

The ministry’s action on Sunday still differed slightly from what the White House statement had described. The ministry suspended for one year the need for any export licenses for the five minerals, instead of issuing multiyear licenses.

 

The restrictions that China had put in place severely limited exports to the United States of gallium and germanium, which are used to make certain types of semiconductors. They also interrupted exports of antimony, used in explosives, and tungsten, which has the highest melting point of any element and is used in armor-piercing ammunition. They also hindered the export of graphite, which is used in nuclear reactors and batteries.

 

The Ministry of Commerce did not provide any explanation on Sunday on why it had waited more than a week to suspend export controls on the five minerals. The ministry’s press office was closed on Sunday.

 

China is the dominant miner of all five of these minerals, in addition to producing almost all of the world’s supply of rare earth metals and rare earth magnets. Rare earths are used in the production of cars, drones, robots and many other civilian technologies.

 

One of the rare earth metals for which China now requires export licenses, samarium, is used in supersonic fighter jets and missiles. [1]

 

The Trump administration is working with a wide range of companies to establish supply chains for all the metals and minerals that China has restricted over the past year.

 

 But while China has suspended its export controls for one year, the mines and magnet factories needed to replace Chinese production could take several years or longer to build.

 

“Regardless of what’s going on outside of our borders, America still has to address all of the aspects of the critical minerals supply chain and magnet manufacturing,” said Wade Senti, president of Advanced Magnet Lab, a magnet company in Melbourne, Fla.” [2]

 

 

1. The Western military-industrial complex generally does not get those licenses today due to China's new export controls on rare earth metals like samarium, which are vital for military applications.

 

China's new rules largely deny export licenses to companies with any foreign military affiliation and automatically reject any requests for rare earths used for military purposes.

 

    Targeted restrictions: China's new regulations, in effect since December 1, 2025, specifically target the defense sector, aiming to prevent Chinese-origin rare earths from reaching foreign military supply chains.

    Impact on Western defense: This creates a significant problem for Western defense contractors, such as those building F-35 fighter jets, as China is currently the sole global supplier of samarium.

    Stalled efforts: Attempts to build domestic samarium production facilities in the United States have so far been unsuccessful due to commercial concerns, exacerbating the country's dependence on China.

    Increased costs and delays: The restrictions are already causing supply chain issues, forcing some companies to seek alternative suppliers or pay exorbitant prices for the limited samarium that may be available through other means. Pumping the money into rearming European Union is still a futile waste. Possibilities to support Zelensky are running out.

 

2. China Suspends Export Controls on More Critical Minerals. Bradsher, Keith.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Nov 9, 2025.