Overview

• The Ministry of State Security confirmed it blocked espionage-driven smuggling schemes orchestrated by foreign intelligence agencies in collaboration with domestic criminal groups.
• Investigators uncovered concealment methods including false declarations of origin, mislabelling shipments as common goods such as solder, and hiding metals inside plastic dolls and water bottles.
• Previous export controls restricted graphite in October 2023 and in April 2025 targeted seven rare earth elements and their magnets due to their civilian and military applications.
• The Ministry of Commerce has designated battery production and lithium processing technologies as controlled exports, requiring foreign entities to obtain official licences for trade.
• China supplies most of the world’s rare earth metals and processes about 90% of industrial volumes, prompting EU and U.S. initiatives to develop alternative sources and processing capacity.