By Alcott Wei

Copyright scmp

China has accused unnamed foreign organisations and individuals of processing its rare earths for military purposes as it announced further export controls on Thursday.
The new curbs announced by the Ministry of Commerce will ban the provision of technology and services for mining and processing the minerals without permission.
China is the world’s leading producer of rare earth elements, which are crucial to the production of a wide range of products, from electric vehicles to spacecraft, especially in the military sector.
The ministry said: “Some overseas organisations and individuals are directly processing rare earth items originating in China and then transferring or providing them to relevant organisations and individuals.
“The items were directly or indirectly used in sensitive areas such as military operations, causing significant damage or potential threats to China’s national security and interests.”
Beijing introduced the first controls on the export of specific minerals in July 2023 – again banning their export without permission – and has steadily expanded the number of rare earths subject to these controls since then.
But the new controls are the first time that these curbs have been expanded to the technology used to mine or process the minerals.
In July, China’s Ministry of State Security warned that contractors in countries that could not produce or purify rare earths themselves were using spies to smuggle the minerals abroad using forged labels or by misreporting ingredients.

“Criminals conceal undeclared rare earth-related items in other properly declared goods, such as mixing rare earth powder into tiling raw materials or filling plastic mannequins, and then smuggling them out of the country under vague labels such as alloy accessories and mechanical parts,” the ministry said.
China accounts for around 70 per cent of global rare earth mining and more than 90 per cent of the world’s processing capacity for the more valuable heavy elements.
The US and other countries have long-standing concerns that Beijing could weaponise this supply chain dominance.
Export controls, particularly those targeting US defence companies, form part of Beijing’s efforts to counter Washington, and it expanded the scope of its existing export controls in April in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs.
A study by Govini, a defence acquisition software firm, published that month concluded that three-quarters of the key components found in the US military’s weapons systems relied on China’s rare earth exports.