China Agrees to Address U.S. Rare Earth Shortages

The Government of China agreed to address United States concerns regarding supply chain shortages of critical minerals and specialty rare earths, including yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and indium, following a leaders summit in Beijing in May 2026. The agreement also covers restrictions on rare earth processing technology. These shortages began in April 2025 when Beijing implemented export controls in retaliation for President Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariffs, severely impacting U.S. aerospace, defense, and semiconductor manufacturing.

While the White House detailed these commitments in a factsheet, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China omitted any mention of rare earths in its own summary of the summit. In subsequent statements, the ministry asserted that export controls are implemented according to national laws and that license applications are reviewed for civilian use. The U.S. has acknowledged that the agreement does not call for the total removal of restrictions, suggesting a tacit acceptance that the export control regime will persist.

Following the summit, China introduced new mining regulations effective June 15, including security reviews for foreign investments in the mining sector and requirements that mineral reserves be kept at their source for at least five years. These measures are intended to safeguard China's own mineral resource security. Separately, the expanded controls have strained relations with the European Union, as Beijing's extraterritorial policies allow it to restrict products from third countries containing Chinese-origin rare earths.