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Beijing has approved more export licenses for the critical minerals and magnets in recent days, but supplies remain scarce and factories in the West are running out.
Keith Bradsher, who has covered the rare earths industry since 2009, reported from Beijing
June 6, 2025, 6:30 a.m. ET
China’s Ministry of Commerce has started issuing more export licenses for shipments of rare earth magnets this week, but the pace remains slow and China appears committed to the licensing requirements introduced two months ago.
Many factories in the automotive sector and other industries in Europe and the United States, and a few in Japan, are running low on the magnets. China makes 90 percent of the world’s supply of these magnets, which are essential for cars, drones, factory robots, missiles and many other technologies.
After a lengthy call on Thursday with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, President Trump wrote on social media that the two men had discussed rare earths. Mr. Trump mentioned that rare earths were a complex subject but did not indicate whether anything had been decided about China’s strict export licensing requirement, which Beijing imposed on April 4.
The presidents agreed that their senior aides would meet soon for further discussions.
China’s statement about the call did not mention rare earths. Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, declined to answer a question about the minerals on Friday at the ministry’s daily briefing, saying that it was a matter for other agencies. On Thursday, the Ministry of Commerce said only that it would issue export licenses according to its new rules.
The American and European chambers of commerce in China each said on Friday that somewhat more export licenses had been issued in recent days. But both groups emphasized that more were needed, as the Ministry of Commerce faces a huge backlog of detailed applications for licenses.
Jens Eskelund, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, called for more exports from China. “Our members are still struggling with the export license approval process, due to both the time it takes and the lack of transparency, and this is now negatively impacting production lines in Europe and other countries,” he said in a statement.
