“In principle, export applications to overseas military users,” the text stipulates, “will not be approved.” It adds further limits on “end-users listed on the export control list and watch list” and subsidiaries.
The European Union, which also depends heavily on China for rare earths and discussed security of supply at a bilateral summit in July, said it was concerned by the announcement and is studying the details.
“The Commission expects China to act as a reliable partner and to ensure stable, predictable access to critical raw materials,” Deputy Chief Spokesperson Olof Gill, whose remit covers trade issues, told a regular news briefing.
The European Union is prepared to take new action to secure fairer access for its companies in China if Beijing fails to address the bloc’s concerns, the EU’s ambassador to China warned in a speech after the announcement.
“If the Chinese don’t make progress on all our issues, we will have to act ourselves,” Jorge Toledo told an event with the Dutch Clingendael Institute.
A new commercial-scale factory for magnets has just opened in Estonia to reduce the bloc’s dependency on China.
Camille Gijs and Doug Palmer contributed reporting. This story has been updated.