Authored by:Feng Xiaopeng, Wang Yimei, Ma Cong and Li Siran
China has tightened export controls on rare earths. In April 2025, China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs issued announcements to regulate 7 categories of medium and heavy rare earths (MHREs) by clarifying their control codes, HS codes and scope of control. On October 9, 2025, 5 additional MHRE elements were added to the control list—achieving full coverage of export controls for raw materials critical to military and semiconductor sectors.