On October 8, just as all Chinese people were immersed in the joy of the National Day holiday, the U.S. Department of Commerce suddenly announced, It added 15 Chinese companies to the list of export controls on the grounds of allegedly “assisting Iran-backed armed groups in obtaining drone electronic components.”
China has long been strange about U.S. sanctions, and China's current strength is no longer allowed to tolerate swallowing.
On October 9, my country's Ministry of Commerce officially issued an announcement: With the approval of the State Council, it was decided to implement export controls on objects such as rare earth-related technologies.
This rare-earth-related technology export control may not be aimed at the United States, but the world is clear that China's statement has hit the U.S. "seven inches".
US sanctions list escalates, China countermeasures precision strikes
On October 8, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a new round of export control decisions, putting 15 Chinese companies on the "blacklist." The scope of this action is wide, including small and medium-sized electronic component traders, as well as component suppliers and logistics service companies.
There are two official reasons for the United States: Some companies are accused of assisting Yemen's Houthi armed forces in purchasing drone components, while the other part is described by the US as "Chinese enterprises participating in procurement" because Israel claims to have found American-made electronic components in the drone debris.
In the name of national security, the United States has taken aggressive actions, but the evidence of sanctions is insufficient. The "wreckage component traceability report" provided by Israel has not been made public to the outside world so far, nor has it been verified by a third-party agency.
The United States unilaterally determined that Chinese companies were "involved" and the transparency and legitimacy of the procedures were questioned. Most of the sanctioned China companies quickly spoke out, indicating that they have always complied with international regulations and are communicating with the United States, but have not received a substantive response.
In fact, all eyes can see, This sanctions list is an attempt by the United States to cut off the global supply chain of key components such as electronic components, which not only curbs the armed forces in the Middle East from acquiring high-tech equipment, but also intends to suppress the upgrading of China's electronics industry.
On October 9, less than 48 hours after the U.S. sanctions list was released, the Ministry of Commerce of China issued an announcement in accordance with the Export Control Law to implement strict export controls on rare earth-related technologies and physical goods.
The announcement covers the entire industrial chain links such as rare earth mining, smelting and separation, magnetic material manufacturing, recycling, production line assembly and commissioning, and maintenance. When exporting uncontrolled goods, as long as the enterprise knows that they will be used for overseas rare earth-related production, it must also apply for a license in advance.
This round of control is not only aimed at the product itself, but also includes all aspects such as technology, equipment, process, and maintenance. Double blockades at home and abroad have blocked the so-called "gray exports" and strictly prevented anyone from circumventing restrictions through trans-shipment and technology transfer from third countries.
China has clearly warned all international partners that they must strictly abide by Chinese law, otherwise trade risks are huge, especially for military users and those on China’s sanctions list, and prohibits any form of rare-earth cooperation.
China's rare earth control "strikes while the iron is hot" and accurately hits the key nerves of the United States and its allies. More than 90% of the world's rare earth refining capacity is in the hands of China. beauty Although China has rare earth mineral resources, it has to rely on China for technical processing due to its lack of refining and high-end processing capabilities.
High-end manufacturing processes such as the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jet, Predator drone, nuclear submarine sonar system, and Tesla motor are all inseparable from China's rare earth materials. Even if U.S. companies can "raise their cards" to purchase, if China cuts off supply, there will be a breakpoint in the global industrial chain.
In fact, since the beginning of the tariff confrontation between China and the United States, China has already controlled rare earth exports, and the Trump administration has also been hanging out to look for new rare earth sources, from the current situation. In addition to China, the United States seems to have difficulty finding rare earth suppliers.
The United States is full of tricks, and China will never give in easily
The United States has tried to win over G7 and other countries to "hold a group" and set up the so-called lower price limit of rare earths, with the intention of raising the export cost of Chinese products through collective bargaining. But the United States soon discovered that China's closed-loop industrial chain and technological monopoly made it difficult for most Western countries to find replacements even if prices rose.
The White House repeatedly threatened, If China does not relax rare earth exports, it will consider imposing a 200% tariff or even making a fuss on the export control list.
However, the consequences of the tariff war have been fully revealed. The U.S. manufacturing industry is highly dependent on the Chinese supply chain, and the cost of decoupling is extremely high. Trump's trade war in his last term eventually backfired on the United States, resulting in rising corporate costs, supply chain chaos and increased employment pressure. Under today's tariff war, it is difficult for American manufacturing companies to find substitutes, but they are subject to China's supply of rare earths.
The United States 'threats and negotiations were "two-pronged," but China did not waver. The Ministry of Commerce's control announcement clearly showed that The adjustment of the rare-earth export policy is not a temporary move, but a long-term strategic deployment at the national level.
At the time of launching the tariff war, Trump had thought it could be easy to make the first global, but the final result has increasingly proved that China has long been an irreplaceable force in the world.
In recent years, the global industrial chain "de-Chinese" calls are frequent, but whenever high-end manufacturing and core raw materials become the focus, reality always let Western countries "go back to the original point".
Although the United States, Australia, Canada and other countries have rare earth resources, but lack the ability to complete the entire chain from mining, separation, refining to magnetic materials manufacturing, a new round of technological barriers is no longer the breakthrough of a single link, but the control of the entire industrial chain.
China's latest rare earth control measures This means that even if the United States continues to develop domestic rare earth mines, it will be difficult to bypass China’s refining, separation and high-end magnetic manufacturing links.
The United States frequently calls for "risk removal" and attempts to reduce its dependence on China through diversified procurement, technological self-reliance, and alliance cooperation. But in the field of rare earths, these plans are unlikely to work in the short term.
Even if the G7 countries work together, it is still difficult to shake the supply and demand pattern in the face of China's huge industrial base and technical barriers.
Rare land disputes are not just about raw materials. In terms of comprehensive national strength, today's China may not be enough to compete with the United States, but China holds many cards in its hands, enough to carry out precise countermeasures against the United States.
China has shown with practical actions that the interests of big countries and industrial security will never give in easily under pressure.
References:
World Wide Web: 2025-10-09: Ministry of Commerce Announcement 2025 No. 62 Announces the Decision to Implement Export Controls on Rare Earths Related Technologies