On October 9, 2025, the first day after the National Day holiday, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the General Administration of Customs (GAC) issued six announcements (Nos. 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, and 62) that impose expanded export controls on a broad range of rare earth-related materials, technologies, and downstream products.
Key points across these announcements include:
Announcement 55: superhard materials-related items, effective Nov 8, 2025
Announcement 56: some rare earth equipment, raw materials, and related items, effective Nov 8, 2025
Announcement 57: medium- and heavy-rare-earth related items, effective Nov 8, 2025
Announcement 58: lithium batteries and artificial graphite anode materials, effective Nov 8, 2025
Announcement 61: rare earth-related items, effective Dec 1, 2025
Announcement 62: rare earth–related technologies, effective immediately.
The full translation can be found here by
.The surprising move naturally leads to a score of questions: Is it an escalation on the part of China? Or is it just matching similar US restrictions? Is it just raising the stakes in the ongoing US-China “Big Deal”, a proverbial stick as in “carrots and sticks”, or just a unilateral move to piss the US off?
[My initial take on this is behind the paywall. If you are a paying subscriber of Baiguan, you can contact me for a complimentary access.]