Rules-based critical mineral export oversight enhanced

China's shift toward more comprehensive and rules-based management of critical mineral exports such as rare earths marks a broader effort to tighten oversight across the supply chain and strengthen safeguards for strategic resources, experts said.

To better protect national security and fulfill related international obligations, Beijing introduced export control measures last year on certain rare earth items and related technologies and equipment, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Overseas importers must obtain a dual-use item export license from the ministry before shipping controlled items to destinations outside China.

In June, the United States, Japan and the Netherlands were China's top three export markets for rare earths and related products by volume, receiving 1,700 metric tons, 1,600 tons and 1,400 tons, respectively, according to the latest monthly report on China's rare earth trade released by Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics in late July.

Citing data from the General Administration of Customs, the report said the three countries accounted for 14.4 percent, 14.2 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively, of China's total exports of rare earths and related products in June. Shipments to the US and Japan fell 49 percent and 43.8 percent year-on-year, respectively, while those to the Netherlands surged 121.4 percent.

Ding Rijia, a professor of economics at the China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, said China's management of critical minerals has become increasingly rules-based and refined, with controls extending beyond individual products to technologies, equipment and other parts of the supply chain where security risks may arise.

Ding said the approach will help China better balance the development and utilization of strategic mineral resources with national security needs, while providing a clearer regulatory framework for enterprises engaged in legitimate foreign trade.

Rare earths refer to 17 metallic elements widely used in high-tech products, ranging from smartphones and flat-screen TVs to wind turbines and fighter jets.

China exported 4,224 tons of rare earths in July, with exports totaling 34,706 tons in the first seven months of 2026, dropping 10 percent year-on-year, customs data showed.

Ying Pinguang, dean of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics' School of Global Governance, said targeted export controls could reshape global rare earth supply and demand, prompting buyers overseas to adjust inventories and sourcing strategies while encouraging producers to allocate resources toward higher-value applications.

Noting that many Western countries have long maintained their own control lists for critical minerals, Ying said China also needs to continue improving its rare earth export management framework.

"China's export control measures will help strengthen oversight of its strategic rare earth resources and bring the management of these materials more closely in line with global practices," he added.

Taking into account reasonable civilian needs and concerns worldwide, the Ministry of Commerce has repeatedly stressed that rare earth export applications meeting relevant requirements, including those for legitimate civilian use, will be approved in accordance with the law.

Stressing that China has never "weaponized" its rare earth processing or exports, Yang Danhui, a researcher at the Beijing-based Institute of Industrial Economics — which is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences — said the country's policy adjustments in recent years have been aimed at promoting the sustainable development and orderly growth of the industry.

Yang said China's continued advances in rare earth processing technologies and industrial upgrading have benefited users around the world.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn