China's continued strengthening of rare earth control policies after the China-US summit

At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 31, 2025, in response to public attention on the results of Sino-US trade negotiations, a journalist asked spokesperson Guo Jia Kun: After the meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States, the Sino-US trade delegations reached a consensus in Kuala Lumpur. The US announced the suspension of its plan to impose additional tariffs on China. Does China correspondingly relax its rare earth export controls?

Can the US resume the previous free purchase of Chinese rare earths? In response, Guo Jia Kun stated that the leaders' meeting has injected new momentum into the stable development of bilateral relations, but specific industry policy issues are recommended to be consulted with the relevant authorities.

On the same day, at the press conference of the Ministry of Commerce, Li Chenggang, the representative of international trade negotiations and vice minister, faced the same question and emphasized that the adjustment of rare earth control policies is entirely based on national security considerations and is consistent with the green development strategy.

This senior official did not directly respond to the US request, but through the statement of "security first" conveyed an explicit signal: China will never change its strategic control policy on rare earths due to external pressure.

This diplomatic confrontation reflected the reality that China's rare earth control has continued to tighten after the meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States, and there are multiple strategic considerations behind it.

Firstly, from the perspective of policy continuity, China has never promised to relax rare earth control.

The results document of the Kuala Lumpur trade negotiation showed that China only agreed to suspend the implementation of the originally scheduled enhanced control measures in October, but the series of control policies issued in May and September remained in effect.

This "slow but not loose" policy design demonstrates the willingness to negotiate while upholding the core interests.

As the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized, China always maintains policy resilience on major principles and will not change its strategic deployment based on unilateral expectations.

Secondly, the resource security strategy constitutes the fundamental support for the control policy.

As the country with the largest reserves of rare earths in the world, China controls more than 80% of the medium and heavy rare earth resources globally.

But behind this strategic advantage is the reality constraint of non-renewable resources.

Minister Li Chenggang particularly pointed out that in the absence of breakthroughs in alternative material technology, excessive exploitation would exhaust the development rights of future generations.

As the world's largest industrial country, China consumes more than 40% of the global mineral resources every year. This "intergenerational fairness" consideration is the important motive for implementing strict control policies.

Data shows that the total control index for rare earth mining in China in 2024 has decreased by 18% compared to 2020, indicating the continuity of policy tightening.

Thirdly, the long-term nature of Sino-US strategic rivalry determines the policy resilience.

Although the Kuala Lumpur talks reached a stage-by-stage consensus, the Busan leaders' meeting put the bilateral relationship on a "pause", but the structural contradictions between the two countries have not been fundamentally resolved.

The US setting the tariff war ceasefire period as 12 months exposes its strategic intention of "dragging to wait for change."

In this context, if China relaxes rare earth control, it would be equivalent to actively giving up strategic leverage.

Historical experience shows that the US's capriciousness in areas such as technological blockades and trade sanctions has forced China to maintain policy resilience.

As the commerce officials said, the current situation is just a "half-time break" in the long-term Sino-US rivalry.

Finally, the intensification of geopolitical competition increases the rigidity of the policy.

When China strengthens rare earth export control, it also requires procurement companies to implement the "one matter at a time" approval system. Meanwhile, the US is working with G7 countries to establish a "Critical Minerals Security Partnership," trying to build a supply chain alliance excluding China.

This "regulatory lock" and "anti-regulatory lock" struggle makes the rare earth issue transcend the scope of simple trade, becoming a focal point of great power strategic competition.

Data shows that China's rare earth exports fell by 23% in 2024, but the export price increased by 41%, showing the effectiveness of the control policy in maintaining resource sovereignty.

In this non-gunfire resource battle, China is guarding the country's development interests with strategic resilience.

The continuous strengthening of rare earth control policies is both a firm defense of the resource security bottom line and an active approach to the international rules game.

When some countries try to reconstruct the industrial chain through alliance methods, China chooses to use the "rare earth card" in its policy toolbox to protect its development interests. This rational and pragmatic strategic choice may reshape the global key resource governance pattern.

In the future, as green transformation accelerates, the strategic value of rare earth resources will continue to rise. How China balances security and development in this resource game will become an important window to observe the strategic interactions of great powers.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7567765120563036672/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author. Please express your attitude below with the 【top/vote】 button.