The Chinese government plans to impose mining controls on certain minerals to ensure its security of supply, in a move that could further enhance Beijing’s chokehold on the global flow of key resources.
Stricter rules including security reviews on foreign investments in the Chinese mining sector are set to take effect on June 15, according to a notification published by the official Xinhua news agency on Wednesday. It did not specify which minerals will be covered under these new measures.
The regulations are designed to “promote the rational development and utilization of mineral resources, strengthen the protection of its environment, advance the high-quality development of the mining industry and safeguard China’s mineral resource security,” the government bulletin stated.
In addition to tighter mining controls, Beijing also intends to speed up the construction of strategic mineral reserve sites. A new rule has been set for mineral reserves to be kept at their source for a minimum of five years, with post-term reviews by State Council authorities to determine any extensions or adjustments.
Trump-Xi summit fallout
The announcement highlights the intensified global competition for minerals that are pivotal to the build-out of advanced technologies and defense applications.
China serves as the single-biggest source for many of minerals like rare earth elements, for which it controls over 60% of the mined supply and nearly all of the processing. For over two decades, the Chinese state has imposed strict controls on rare earths through annual production quotas, and last year leveraged its market dominance to limit their exports to retaliate against United States tariffs. This led to a surge in the price of minerals like yttrium, while leaving many Western manufacturers severely short on supply.
The new rules come just days after a long-anticipated summit between Chinese leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump. The issue of rare earth export controls and whether they would be eased became a hot topic, as shipments of minerals to the U.S. were still shown to be lagging, according to customs data.
On Sunday, the White House put out a statement that Beijing had agreed to address concerns around shortages of rare earths such as yttrium as well as other critical minerals. The Chinese government, in light of setting the new mining controls, confirmed that both sides had discussed the issue and would study and resolve “each other’s reasonable and lawful concerns,” according to a statement cited by Reuters.
