Ministry reaffirms stance on rare earth export controls

The Ministry of Commerce reiterated on Tuesday that China's export controls on items like rare earths are legitimate measures adopted by the Chinese government in line with laws and regulations to refine its own export control system.

The ministry made the comments after US officials claimed — following China's imposition of export controls on items such as rare earths — that they had proposed a call with China, but China postponed the suggestion. The US said both sides need to find a way back to a stable situation.

The ministry said prior to the implementation of these measures, China had notified the US through bilateral export control dialogue mechanisms.

As a responsible major country, China has always safeguarded its national security while upholding common international security. China's export controls are not equivalent to an export ban. The country will continue to approve regulatory-compliant applications as it always has, and work with other nations to protect the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, the ministry said.

In contrast, the US has long overstretched the concept of national security, abused export control measures, and imposed discriminatory practices on China. Particularly since the China-US economic and trade talks in Madrid, the US has introduced a series of new restrictive measures targeting China — actions that have severely harmed China's interests and tainted the atmosphere for bilateral economic and trade negotiations and China firmly opposes such practices, the ministry said.