The European Union flag flies outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 1, 2023.
Eve Herman | Reuters
BEIJING—China intends to continue exporting rare earths to Europe regardless of whether the U.S.-China trade deal is extended beyond January.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, intends to continue approving rare earth licenses to Europe, spokesman He Yadong told CNBC on Thursday when asked about the impact of the impending U.S. deadline.
In October last year, the Chinese government tightened restrictions on the export of all rare earths, including products that contain only 0.1% rare earths from China. The move follows new U.S. rules that extend the U.S. blacklist to majority-owned subsidiaries of Chinese companies on the corporate list, potentially affecting about 20,000 Chinese companies.
However, at a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in late October 2025, the United States and China agreed to suspend these measures for one year. Ahead of last month’s summit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the truce would be extended by two months until January.
Trade tensions between the EU and China subsided last week after European Trade Commissioner Maroš Sefčović met with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wento in Beijing. China said it intends to use the “green channel” mechanism to keep rare earths flowing into Europe, while calling on the EU to support China’s imports of certain products in dual-use sectors.
European Commission leaders are expected to meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to consider the details of trade negotiations with China.
