Overview

• Beijing added holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium to its control list, bringing restrictions to 12 of 17 rare earth elements.
• Licensing now covers technologies for mining, smelting, processing, recycling and magnet production, with technology and personnel rules effective immediately and material controls due December 1.
• Foreign-made products containing about 0.1% Chinese‑sourced rare earths or produced using Chinese extraction, refining or magnet-making technology require Chinese approval.
• Applications linked to military end users will be rejected in principle, while uses tied to advanced chips and certain AI will face case‑by‑case reviews; Chinese nationals and firms are barred from assisting overseas projects without approval.
• MOFCOM cited national security and outlined humanitarian exemptions and a transition period for existing contracts, as analysts flagged unclear overseas enforcement and noted the timing before an expected Xi–Trump meeting at APEC in South Korea.