Key facts
- The Ministry of Commerce said the pause on expanded rare earth export controls runs two more months, until January 10.
- The ministry's statement gave no other details on the extension.
- China announced the extension as part of a broader suspension of trade countermeasures and tariffs.
- China first imposed rare earth export controls in April 2025 and widened them in October 2025.
- The measures were paused for one year in November 2025 after a Xi Jinping and Donald Trump summit in South Korea.
China's Ministry of Commerce said in a short statement on November 9 that it would extend a pause on expanded rare earth export controls for two months, until January 10. The ministry gave no other details.
China introduced export controls on certain rare earths in April 2025, then expanded them in October of that year, widening their scope and adding controls on certain diamonds with industrial applications and on lithium battery technology. The measures were paused for one year in November 2025 after a summit in South Korea between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
The extension is part of a broader suspension of trade countermeasures and tariffs that China announced on November 9 as it negotiates with Washington over an enduring trade deal. Trump is set to travel to Shenzhen in southern China later in November for an APEC leaders summit, where he is expected to meet Xi.