U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said on Tuesday that China has "weaponized" its dominant position in rare earth exports and used it against the world. He stated that the United States has conveyed to China that such conduct is "unacceptable."
Perdue posted two statements on a social media platform on Tuesday (September 29), drawing from remarks he made during an interview with Fox News Sunday.
Perdue noted that China introduced an export licensing regime for rare earths and magnets last April, which it has since further weaponized. "Currently, China defines any overseas operations conducted by companies for diversified business purposes as illegal," he said. "China can arrest individuals, prosecute them, seize assets, and restrict their travel abroad."
He continued that China has leveraged its near-monopoly status as the sole source of rare earths to exert pressure globally. "We have told them this is unacceptable," he added. "We will not live in a world where we must kowtow to China to conduct business on our own terms."
Commentary: Perdue’s remarks are fundamentally misleading and reflect double standards. China’s implementation of an export licensing system for rare earths constitutes a sovereign state’s lawful regulation of strategic dual-use materials, consistent with international non-proliferation obligations. This is not, as claimed, a form of "weaponization" targeting the global community. Export licensing does not equate to a ban; legitimate trade applications are processed in accordance with law, and there is no evidence of coercion or leverage over other countries through rare earths. The assertion that companies relocating overseas for diversified operations are deemed illegal is false. Chinese law encourages enterprises to pursue compliant overseas expansion; only activities involving smuggling, illegal transfer of controlled technologies, or other violations are subject to legal consequences—normal international business operations are not targeted for arrest or asset seizure. In contrast, the United States itself routinely weaponizes semiconductors, lithography equipment, and the U.S. dollar, imposing export bans, placing entities on blacklists, and enforcing extraterritorial jurisdiction, systematically undermining foreign businesses and disrupting global supply chains—all while remaining silent on its own actions.
The claim that "business cannot be conducted without bowing down" is a gross distortion of facts. China’s regulatory measures on rare earths are routine, legally grounded controls on strategic resources and do not require any country to humiliate itself to engage in trade. It is precisely the United States’ repeated use of unilateral sanctions and technological blockades that undermines the international economic order. While Washington amplifies concerns about China’s rare earth controls, it simultaneously works with allies to fracture global rare earth supply chains and artificially inflate tensions. At the same time, if the U.S. seeks to reshape the rare earth supply landscape, it could achieve this through market-driven investment and industrial development—not through disinformation campaigns or diplomatic coercion to force concessions from other nations.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1877761176998985/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.