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Mia Nurmamat

China’s exports of strategic minerals to the United States and Japan diverged in July, with US-bound shipments showing signs of improvement while supplies of key materials to Japan tumbled.
US-bound shipments of rare earth permanent magnets rose 4.6 per cent year on year and 32.6 per cent month on month in July, while exports of other rare earth oxides jumped 56.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data.
Some smaller categories surged from low bases, including industrial synthetic diamonds, whose shipments increased by nearly 808 per cent, according to data released on Thursday.
By contrast, rare earth magnet exports to Japan fell by 52.2 per cent year on year, while shipments of natural flake graphite plunged 62 per cent.
In addition, China’s exports of tungsten carbide to Japan – a rare-metal compound found in dual-use products and cemented carbide cutting tools – have remained at zero for six consecutive months since February.
Beijing has eased some restrictions on critical material exports to the US, accelerating the approval of rare earth shipments to the US following trade negotiations and suspending US-specific curbs on several materials in November.
But shipments of key gallium and antimony products and most germanium products remain at or near zero.
Japan has moved in the opposite direction, with China tightening controls on dual-use exports to Japanese military users and uses in January, and subsequently adding 40 Japanese entities to its export control list.
Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at Natixis, said the recovery in US-bound shipments, particularly rare earth magnets, remained modest compared with levels before controls were tightened.

“It is decent growth for the US, but not impressive,” she said, adding that a potential visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping could provide another opportunity for negotiations.
Japan presented a starkly different picture, Garcia-Herrero said. “Japan is already really feeling the pain caused by reduced exports from China. This is driven purely by geopolitics.”
“China is trying very hard to corner Japan – and that is what you are seeing reflected in these trade figures,” she said.
“China is quite likely to continue providing the US with a decent, but not large, amount of critical raw materials, while remaining adamant about restricting supplies to Japan,” she said.
The July drop marked a sharp deterioration from earlier in the year. Rare earth magnet shipments to Japan were still up 3.5 per cent year on year over the first seven months of 2026, despite a 13.6 per cent month-on-month drop.
At the same time, US-China tensions have resurfaced in recent weeks, with Washington expanding restrictions on Chinese companies under a forced-labour law as well as banning the import and sale of new foreign-made robotic devices and power inverters, prompting Beijing to sanction seven US entities and tighten export controls on drones and their components.
Rare earth magnets are widely used in electronics and electric vehicle motors, making them a critical component for the manufacturing sector.
China accounts for about 60 per cent of global rare earth mining and nearly 90 per cent of processing, according to the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.


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July customs data shows Beijing easing supplies of rare earth magnets to the US while export curbs deepen Japan’s material shortages


July customs data shows Beijing easing supplies of rare earth magnets to the US while export curbs deepen Japan’s material shortages.


China strategic mineral exports to US rise as Japan shipments plunge

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}July customs data shows Beijing easing supplies of rare earth magnets to the US while export curbs deepen Japan’s material shortages

July customs data shows Beijing easing supplies of rare earth magnets to the US while export curbs deepen Japan’s material shortages