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China targets US rare earth and other firms with export controls
Beijing said the controls respond to U.S. blacklists and will stop ongoing exports of dual-use items to the 10 firms immediately.
On Monday, China's Ministry of Commerce imposed export controls on 10 U.S. companies while the Ministry of Finance simultaneously barred 46 U.S. firms from government procurement, effective immediately to safeguard national security.
Beijing's measures respond to the Pentagon's recent update of its 1260H list, which accused major Chinese technology companies of aiding military modernization, prompting officials to condemn the U.S. government's "wrongful expansion" of sanctions.
The order prohibits exporting Chinese-origin dual-use items to 10 listed entities including MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, while barring global third-party transfers; the ministry allows exemptions for goods deemed "genuinely necessary."
While the procurement ban exempts U.S.-funded entities in China, Han Shen Lin, China country director at The Asia Group, said the countermeasures appear "largely symbolic," as most targeted firms have "little or no meaningful business exposure in China."
This escalation marks a continued pattern of reactive trade barriers testing U.S.-China relations, as Beijing leverages control over above 90% of rare-earth refining to retaliate against Washington's broadening export and investment restrictions.
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Daily Business and Investing podcast from Seeking Alpha
Negotiations in doubt
Wall Street Breakfast discusses China’s retaliation to a U.S. military blacklist, imposing export and procurement curbs on American defense-linked firms