Maybe China should not have blocked rare earth exports to the EU [0], Japan [1], India [2], and other countries in addition to the US in 2025.
This is why ExChina is the name-of-the-game in the REE space, becuase this risk has been something most of us in the space recognized would occur since 2011 during the Senkaku-Diaoyu standoff, and finally got backing during the Biden admin.
> Maybe China should not have blocked rare earth exports
They didn't block exports, they required government permission for export. [1]
And that happened after 150% tariffs on China and the ban of exporting EUV semiconductor equipment to them. China's response was a quite normal negotiation tactic given the chapter of "The Art of the Deal" which was being used against them.
"On 4 April 2025, as one of the responses to US President Donald Trump’s administration’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, China introduced export controls on seven heavy REEs (with licensing requirements), as well as on all related compounds, metals and magnets. Exporters are required to obtain a licence, and need to provide information on the end users of REEs" [1]
Then the tariffs normalized somewhat but the EUV ban remains, nevertheless China repealed the licensing on rare-earths as a sign of good will - only to be blamed for... the policies of others which have shown to bring only suffering, poverty and wars.
> This is why ExChina is the name-of-the-game in the REE space, because this risk has been something most of us in the space recognized would occur since 2011
Subsidies are normal in the West, it's not China's fault that the West didn't subsidize rare-earths for many years. The issue here is excusing other risky policies (erratic tariffs, hostile trade restrictions, etc) with a country that simply provided what they were asked to provide.
> China repealed the ban on rare-earths as a sign of good will
This is the crux of the issue. To Indian, Japanese, European, and policymakers of other affected nations even taking such an attempt against them burnt all goodwill to China.
---
Following the export controls in 2025, the decision was made in most countries to expand the development of an ExChina supply chain.
> Following the export controls in 2025, the decision was made in most countries to expand the development of an ExChina supply chain. > This is the crux of the issue.
It's not. I clearly stated that developing an REE supply chain outside of China had to be done a lot earlier.
The crux of the issue is these countries are blaming China for the fragility of the supply chain instead of blaming themselves for their tardiness while thanking China for sending a clear message - "develop your own sheet, we are afraid of running out ourselves".
I'm talking politics 101 but, by default, you're stuck on "blame China" which is how we fail to fix the real problems - they don't come from China.
Not subsidizing REE earlier was a dumb decision, doing it belatedly by way of hostile alliances against the single, long time and rather benevolent supplier is another folly.
Include China in the negotiations, its a simple matter! Too bad the "China bad" attitude is so addictive that it excludes rational thinking.
This is a misquoting of my tiny quote blurb so it is clear that your are discussing this topic in bad faith.
The key demand for India, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, and other Asian nations adjacent to the PRC is that the PRC negotiate in good faith and frankly, drop demands over Ladakh/Arunachal, Senkaku, Hoang Sa, the Yellow Sea, and other disputes.
This means mutually discussing how to develop an offramp. And as I mentioned elsewhere, Asian states already began building an ExChina supply chain for critical minerals processing and magnet manufacturing in the 2011-17 period.
The issue is the PRC under the current administration has not negotiated from a position of good faith, which has forced all neighboring nations to start building their own supply chains and ecosystems independent of PRC.
The PRC has also been treating the EU in bad faith by undermining the EU as an institution (which I have noted multiple times before with sources) as well as a fairly mainstream view in MOFA affiliated think tanks that the EU will always be subservient to American interests [0] as well as attempting to kidnap European nationals [1] and running disinformation campaigns against European defense exports [2]
This is why there is a global initiative now to build a critical minerals supply chain without China.
Maybe China should not have blocked rare earth exports to the EU [0], Japan [1], India [2], and other countries in addition to the US in 2025.
This is why ExChina is the name-of-the-game in the REE space, becuase this risk has been something most of us in the space recognized would occur since 2011 during the Senkaku-Diaoyu standoff, and finally got backing during the Biden admin.
[0] - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eu-firms-brace-more-shut...
[1] - https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-rare-earth-campaign-aga...
[2] - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-taking-steps-mitig...
> Maybe China should not have blocked rare earth exports
They didn't block exports, they required government permission for export. [1]
And that happened after 150% tariffs on China and the ban of exporting EUV semiconductor equipment to them. China's response was a quite normal negotiation tactic given the chapter of "The Art of the Deal" which was being used against them.
"On 4 April 2025, as one of the responses to US President Donald Trump’s administration’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, China introduced export controls on seven heavy REEs (with licensing requirements), as well as on all related compounds, metals and magnets. Exporters are required to obtain a licence, and need to provide information on the end users of REEs" [1]
Then the tariffs normalized somewhat but the EUV ban remains, nevertheless China repealed the licensing on rare-earths as a sign of good will - only to be blamed for... the policies of others which have shown to bring only suffering, poverty and wars.
> This is why ExChina is the name-of-the-game in the REE space, because this risk has been something most of us in the space recognized would occur since 2011
Subsidies are normal in the West, it's not China's fault that the West didn't subsidize rare-earths for many years. The issue here is excusing other risky policies (erratic tariffs, hostile trade restrictions, etc) with a country that simply provided what they were asked to provide.
[1] https://epthinktank.eu/2025/11/24/chinas-rare-earth-export-r...
The EU, Japan, and India are not part of the USA.
> China repealed the ban on rare-earths as a sign of good will
This is the crux of the issue. To Indian, Japanese, European, and policymakers of other affected nations even taking such an attempt against them burnt all goodwill to China.
---
Following the export controls in 2025, the decision was made in most countries to expand the development of an ExChina supply chain.
> Following the export controls in 2025, the decision was made in most countries to expand the development of an ExChina supply chain. > This is the crux of the issue.
It's not. I clearly stated that developing an REE supply chain outside of China had to be done a lot earlier.
The crux of the issue is these countries are blaming China for the fragility of the supply chain instead of blaming themselves for their tardiness while thanking China for sending a clear message - "develop your own sheet, we are afraid of running out ourselves".
I'm talking politics 101 but, by default, you're stuck on "blame China" which is how we fail to fix the real problems - they don't come from China.
Not subsidizing REE earlier was a dumb decision, doing it belatedly by way of hostile alliances against the single, long time and rather benevolent supplier is another folly.
Include China in the negotiations, its a simple matter! Too bad the "China bad" attitude is so addictive that it excludes rational thinking.
This is a misquoting of my tiny quote blurb so it is clear that your are discussing this topic in bad faith.
The key demand for India, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, and other Asian nations adjacent to the PRC is that the PRC negotiate in good faith and frankly, drop demands over Ladakh/Arunachal, Senkaku, Hoang Sa, the Yellow Sea, and other disputes.
This means mutually discussing how to develop an offramp. And as I mentioned elsewhere, Asian states already began building an ExChina supply chain for critical minerals processing and magnet manufacturing in the 2011-17 period.
The issue is the PRC under the current administration has not negotiated from a position of good faith, which has forced all neighboring nations to start building their own supply chains and ecosystems independent of PRC.
The PRC has also been treating the EU in bad faith by undermining the EU as an institution (which I have noted multiple times before with sources) as well as a fairly mainstream view in MOFA affiliated think tanks that the EU will always be subservient to American interests [0] as well as attempting to kidnap European nationals [1] and running disinformation campaigns against European defense exports [2]
This is why there is a global initiative now to build a critical minerals supply chain without China.
[0] - https://fddi.fudan.edu.cn/_t2515/57/f8/c21257a743416/page.ht...
[1] - https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2024/07/02/deux-espio...
[2] - https://www.defense.gouv.fr/desinformation/nos-analyses-froi...