China steps on the accelerator in the face of an eventual trade negotiation with the United States with the approval this Thursday of a range of trade measures that are reminiscent of the harshest part of the tariff dispute. On the one hand, it has given a new twist to it and its related technologies, one of the great points of friction with Washington. It has reinforced restrictions on trade in both rare earth materials and tools for the extraction and processing of these critical resources over which the Asian giant has almost monopolistic dominance in the global supply chain.
In addition, it has implemented export controls on various items related to lithium batteries and artificial graphite anode materials, also used in the batteries that give life, among others, to electric cars, another of the fields where the People’s Republic has become a decisive player on a planetary scale. And it has included among the restrictions items related to superhard (especially resistant) materials, such as synthetic diamond dust or synthetic diamond wire saws, with numerous industrial applications.
Finally, Beijing has decided to include 14 foreign organizations – most of them American and related to the field of defense – on the list of “unreliable” entities, which allows authorities to impose punitive measures. Among them are manufacturers of anti-drone equipment and infrared cameras.
At the gates of the Xi-Trump summit
This Thursday’s shots are reminiscent, due to their impact and scope, of the rawest moments of the tariff battle with the United States, last April. And they arrive at a delicate moment, awaiting a meeting at the end of the month between the US president, Donald Trump, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, scheduled to reduce tension between the first and second economies on the planet. Their meeting will take place shortly before the expiration in November of the tariff truce granted in May by the White House, and extended in August.
The measures, released by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs, will come into force on November 8. That is: two days before the 90-day truce declared by Trump expires.
“These measures are not directed against any particular country or region,” a Chinese Commerce spokesperson said in a statement. And it has shown the Chinese Government’s willingness to work with other countries to keep global production and supply chains “stable and fluid.”
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 of these elements of Chinese origin, even if the products have been produced abroad. It will also apply to products that are manufactured abroad using Chinese technologies.
This new regulation creates for the first time a formula similar to that used by Washington to send 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 standard expressly details the types of metals to which it applies (such as samarium, dysprosium, gadolinium and terbium) and specifies that, in principle, licenses will not be granted when the products are intended for foreign military users or to be used in the military field. When they are intended for application in advanced chips, licenses will be approved on a case-by-case basis.
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 the trade in critical resources in recent times.
In addition, along the same lines, Beijing also approved this Tuesday a new regulation 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. The measure 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,” details the Ministry’s note.
The Government has also expanded restrictions on five new types of rare earths, such as holmium (essential for advanced lasers, magnets and nuclear technologies) and erbium (with applications in fiber optics).
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 for Beijing ahead of the expected meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea. The meeting was confirmed by the Republican magnate after their telephone conversation in mid-September. After her, he also assured that they had reached an agreement so that, over which a Congressional ban was hanging, it could 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, which still stands. 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.
