foreign companies

Chinese export-control regulations require foreign companies to obtain Chinese government approval to export products that contain rare earths sourced from China, regardless of where those products are manufactured.

In 2025, the Chinese government restricted exports of rare earth elements by requiring foreign companies to obtain special approval to ship rare earth metals abroad, imposing permitting requirements on exports of technologies used in the mining, smelting, and recycling of rare earths, and stating that export requests for products used in military goods would be rejected.

Export-control policies can require foreign companies to obtain government approval to export products that contain trace amounts of domestically-originated materials or that were produced using domestic technology.