A New Hope for Peace: Trump Brokered Deal Offers Chance to End Israel-Hamas War
In a major diplomatic breakthrough, a deal brokered by Donald Trump between Israel and Hamas opens the door to a potential ceasefire, hostage exchange...
China Tightens Export Rules on Rare Earths Amid Trade Tensions
• Business, Politics, China, export rules, rare earths, technology, trade negotiations, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, national security, US, trade war, lithium batteries, graphite, defense manufacturers, supply chain, rtwnews.com, China Tightens Export Rules on Rare Earths Amid Trade Tensions
In a strategic move ahead of critical negotiations with the US, China has imposed stricter export regulations on rare earth elements and other vital materials essential for tech manufacturing.
China has tightened export controls on rare earths and other materials critical for advanced tech manufacturing as trade negotiations continue with the US.
It processes around 90% of the world's rare earths, which go into everything from solar panels to smartphones - a key bargaining chip ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump this month.
Beijing had already restricted processing technology and unauthorized overseas co-operation, but Thursday's announcement formalized the rules.
Foreign companies now need the Chinese government's approval to export products with even small amounts of rare earths and must explain their intended use.
The ministry announced similar restrictions on the export of lithium batteries and some forms of graphite, which are also essential components in the global tech supply chain and largely produced in China.
Beijing said the regulations are intended to safeguard national security. One of the main targets of these controls appears to be overseas defense manufacturers, including those in the US, who rely on rare earths from China.
China had added several rare earths and related materials to its export control list in April as the trade war with Washington ramped up, which caused a major global shortage.
But the new announcement makes clear that licenses are unlikely to be issued to arms manufacturers and certain companies in the chip industry.
Even the technology used to mine and process rare earths, or to make magnets from rare earths, can only be exported with permission from the government, the Commerce Ministry said.
Chinese firms are also banned from working with foreign companies on rare earths without government permission.
The latest announcement also clarifies the specific technologies and processes that are restricted.
These include mining, smelting and separation, magnetic material manufacturing, and recycling rare earths from other resources.
The assembly, debugging, maintenance, repair, and upgrading of production equipment are also prohibited from export without permission, the announcement added.
This could have a major impact in the US, which has a significant rare earths mining industry but lacks processing facilities.
The new regulations create Beijing's version of US rules that block countries from selling chip-making equipment to China.
The US has used those measures to slow China's development of powerful chips that could be used for artificial intelligence (AI) with military applications.
Trade expert Alex Capri believes China's new regulations are specifically timed ahead of Xi and Trump's expected meeting later this month.
Beijing has targeted key vulnerabilities in US electronics and weapons manufacturing, mirroring America's earlier moves against China's chip industry.