The Ministry of Commerce: Implementing Export Control on Technologies Related to Rare Earths

Ministry of Commerce Announcement No. 62 of 2025: Announcement of the Decision on Implementing Export Control on Related Technologies of Rare Earths

To safeguard national security and interests, in accordance with relevant provisions of the "Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items of the People's Republic of China", and upon approval by the State Council, it is decided to implement export control on related technologies and other items of rare earths. The relevant provisions are as follows:

I. The following items are prohibited from export without permission:

(1) Technologies related to rare earth mining, separation and refining, metal smelting, magnetic material manufacturing, and recycling and utilization of secondary rare earth resources, as well as their carriers; (Control Code: 1E902.a)

(2) Technologies related to the assembly, commissioning, maintenance, repair, and upgrading of production lines for rare earth mining, separation and refining, metal smelting, magnetic material manufacturing, and recycling and utilization of secondary rare earth resources.(Control Code: 1E902.b)

For the export of non-regulated goods, technologies or services, if the exporter knows that they will be used or substantially contribute to the activities of overseas rare earth mining, separation, metal smelting, magnetic material manufacturing, and recycling and utilization of secondary rare earth resources, they shall, in accordance with Article 12 of the "Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China" and Article 14 of the "Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items of the People's Republic of China", apply to the Ministry of Commerce for an export license of dual-use items before the export. Without permission, no such items shall be provided.

The meanings and scopes of "rare earth", "separation", "metal smelting", "secondary rare earth resources" as mentioned in this announcement shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Regulations on the Management of Rare Earths of the People's Republic of China". The technology of "magnetic material manufacturing" as mentioned in this announcement refers to the manufacturing technologies of samarium-cobalt, neodymium-iron-boron, and cerium magnets. The technology and its carriers, including technical-related materials and data such as design drawings, process specifications, process parameters, processing procedures, simulation data, etc.

II. The term "exporters" as used in this announcement includes Chinese citizens, legal persons and unincorporated organizations, as well as all natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organizations within the territory of China.

The term "export" as used in this announcement refers to the transfer of the controlled items listed in this announcement from within the territory of the People's Republic of China to outside the country, or the provision to foreign organizations or individuals within or outside the territory of China, including trade exports as well as any transfer or provision carried out through means such as intellectual property licensing, investment, exchange, gift-giving, exhibition, display, testing, inspection, assistance, teaching, joint research and development, employment or hiring, consultation, etc. 

III. Exporters shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items", apply to the Ministry of Commerce for export licenses; for the export of technologies, exporters shall, in addition, submit the "Statement on the Transfer or Provision of Controlled Exported Technologies" as required in Appendix 1; when providing the controlled technologies within the territory of the People's Republic of China to foreign organizations or individuals located within the territory, they shall, in addition, submit the "Statement on the Provision of Controlled Exported Technologies within the Territory" as required in Appendix 2.

Exporters shall use the license documents in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 and other regulations of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items", and fulfill the reporting obligations as required by the license.

IV. Exporters should enhance their compliance awareness, understand the performance indicators, main uses, etc. of the goods, technologies and services to be exported, and determine whether they fall under dual-use items. If it is impossible to determine whether the items to be transferred or provided belong to the items subject to this announcement, or it is impossible to determine whether the relevant circumstances are subject to this announcement, they can consult the Ministry of Commerce.

V. No entity or individual shall provide any intermediary, facilitation, agency, freight transportation, delivery, customs declaration, third-party e-commerce platform, or financial services for acts that violate this announcement. If the services provided may involve the export of controlled items under this announcement, the service provider shall proactively inquire of the service recipient whether the export activities are subject to the jurisdiction of this announcement, whether they are applying for export licenses or have obtained license documents; for export operators who have already obtained dual-use item export licenses, they shall proactively present the license documents to the relevant service providers.

VI. Technologies that have entered the public domain, technologies in basic scientific research, or technologies necessary for ordinary patent applications are not subject to the jurisdiction of this announcement. As of the effective date of this announcement, if uncontrolled technologies under this announcement that have not entered the public domain are disclosed to unspecified parties without permission, penalties shall be imposed in accordance with Article 34 of the "Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China".

VII. Chinese citizens, legal persons, and unincorporated organizations shall not provide any substantive assistance or support for activities related to the extraction, smelting separation, metal smelting, magnetic material manufacturing, and secondary resource recycling of rare earths from abroad without permission. Those who violate the requirements of this announcement will be punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items of the People's Republic of China".

VIII. This announcement shall come into effect as of the date of its release. The "List of Dual-Use Items for Export Control of the People's Republic of China" shall be updated simultaneously.