This mirrors Beijing’s capability to swiftly capitalize on its control over the critical mineral supply chain, as the worth of rare earth minerals shipped out by China dropped by approximately 50% from what it was a year earlier.
The official figures align with what analysts have been stating: China's export restrictions on substantial amounts of key minerals resemble the ultimate trump card During discussions with the United States regarding trades.
Last month, the world's second-biggest economic power exported rare earth materials valued at $18.7 million, reflecting an annual decrease of 48.3%, as reported by the General Administration of Customs on Monday. This statistic encompasses exports of various types of rare earth elements, excluding those subjected to restrictions by Beijing.
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The value in May indicated a 13.7 percent decrease from the $21.7 million recorded in April.
According to data provided by financial information company Wind, China exported approximately 5,864.6 tonnes of rare earth elements in May, marking a 5.67% decrease compared to the previous year. This broke a streak of three successive months of annual export growth beginning in February.
Nevertheless, the total quantity of exported rare earth materials during the initial five-month period amounted to 24,827 tons, which represents a 2.3 percent increase compared to the corresponding timeframe from the previous year.
Critical rare-earth materials have crucial functions within numerous high-tech devices, ranging from mobile phones to military aircraft.
Given that America depends on China for approximately 70 percent of its rare earth element imports, as estimated by analysts, this reliance poses potential threats to the U.S. supply chain stability.
Despite agreeing last month at negotiations In Geneva, Switzerland with Washington, China has kept its export restrictions on items that were initially imposed as non-tariff retaliatory measures against the U.S. since April 2nd, according to their agreement aimed at suspending or eliminating these actions. intermediate and heavyweight rare earth elements as was stated on April 4.
In the meantime, local administrations in areas abundant with rare earth elements intensified their efforts. crackdown on illegal mining in May.
However, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Saturday It has endorsed approved export applications and expressed willingness to discuss export controls with pertinent nations “in order to promote legitimate commerce,” indicating an openness to engage in discussions about rare earth materials.
Charles Chang, a finance professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, stated that Beijing's restrictions on rare earth elements have led to disruptions in the supply chains of various nations, such as the United States.
He suggested that it would be the manufacturers who should react first, stating 'They can only go so far with their actions.'
Trade officials from each side were scheduled to converge in London on Monday Following U.S. President Donald Trump's conversation with President Xi Jinping earlier this week, export restrictions concerning rare earth elements were anticipated to be central topics of discussion.
Chang stated, "Typically, the person possessing the highly desirable resource holds the advantage."
Additional reporting by June Xia
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