China’s communist government announced Thursday that it would further restrict exports of rare earth metals that are critical for the manufacture of computer chips, rechargeable batteries, military equipment, and other technologies. Experts say the move could backfire in the long run as President Trump aims to expand domestic rare earth production and diversify U.S. imports from other countries.

The measures, which will take effect on December 1, mark a further tightening of restrictions that Xi Jinping’s regime has issued after it “halted exports of seven kinds of rare earth metals, as well as magnets made from them” in April. In addition, China announced that it will curb the export of equipment crucial for manufacturing electric car batteries. China’s Ministry of Commerce publicly stated the restrictions were issued in order to combat the technologies from being used by the militaries of foreign adversaries. Observers say the electric car battery measures were taken to give China a competitive advantage in the global electric vehicle market.

China dominates the global market of rare earth materials, “accounting for nearly 70 percent of global processing of the materials.” The communist country also possesses the world’s largest supply of rare earth reserves. Currently, the U.S. relies on China for 96% of its rare earth materials.

Beijing’s export restrictions could dramatically affect the U.S. military’s ability to acquire critical rare earth materials. For example, China produces the entire world’s supply of samarium, “a particularly obscure rare earth metal used almost entirely in military applications.” As noted by The New York Times, samarium magnets “can withstand temperatures hot enough to melt lead without losing their magnetic force.” This makes these magnets essential for the manufacture of missiles because they can withstand “the heat of fast-moving electric motors in cramped spaces” like missile nose cones. In addition, 50 pounds of samarium magnets are required for the manufacture of a single F-35, the military’s premier fighter jet.

China also refines 99% of the world’s dysprosium, another critical rare earth metal. As reported by the NYT, “A single refinery in Wuxi, near Shanghai, produces the entire world’s supply of ultrapure dysprosium.” In order to manufacture the latest microchips, ultrapure dysprosium is required due to its heat-resistant properties. The rare earth metal is also critical for the manufacture of smartphones, electric vehicle motors, nuclear reactors, lasers, MRI machines, and specialty alloys and glass.

In response to Beijing’s rare earth restrictions, President Trump stated Friday on Truth Social that he will likely further raise tariffs against the communist regime to counter the move, further deepening the economic standoff between the U.S. and China that began in February, when Trump initiated a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports. Since then, the president has issued additional tariffs on specific Chinese imports.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bob Maginnis, who serves as senior fellow for National Security at Family Research Council, offered further analysis of the situation to The Washington Stand.

“Beijing’s latest clampdown on rare earth exports is a high-stakes geopolitical gambit that reflects both confidence and anxiety,” he contended. “By tightening controls, Beijing aims to remind Washington and its allies of their dependence at a time when the AI and chip race increasingly defines national power. The move is meant to pressure the U.S. ahead of President Trump’s expected talks with Xi Jinping, leveraging China’s near-monopoly to extract concessions on tariffs and technology restrictions.”

Maginnis continued, “Yet such economic coercion carries serious long-term risks for China. Washington is already responding by accelerating domestic and allied production of critical minerals. The Trump administration’s push for expanded mining in the United States, coupled with joint ventures in Australia, Canada, and Africa, could break China’s chokehold over time. This parallels the 2010 rare-earth embargo against Japan, which backfired by catalyzing non-Chinese supply chains. The same dynamic is likely to repeat as the U.S. re-industrializes and prioritizes strategic autonomy in the AI and defense sectors.”

Maginnis went on to observe that other sources of rare earth materials are beginning to emerge that will give China heavy competition.

“In the short term, China’s restrictions may disrupt chipmakers such as Nvidia and TSMC, but the shock will also spur innovation and diversification — precisely what Beijing wants to prevent,” he predicted. “Already, new refining capacity in Texas, Saskatchewan, and Western Australia is scheduled to come online within three years, with heavy U.S. subsidies and Pentagon procurement contracts ensuring demand. Meanwhile, allies like Japan and South Korea are stockpiling critical minerals and developing recycling capabilities. The cumulative effect will be to erode Beijing’s leverage while strengthening Western industrial resilience.”

“In sum, China’s maneuver underscores how minerals have become the new oil of the AI age — but it also accelerates the very decoupling Beijing fears,” Maginnis concluded. “What was once a strategic advantage could soon become a strategic liability. By weaponizing resource dominance, Xi risks prompting a global response that leaves China isolated in the high-tech supply chain it now seeks to control.”

Gordon Chang, an author and China expert who serves as a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, concurred.

“Let’s remember that although we have to buy rare earths, China has to sell them,” he told TWS. “In 2010, a Chinese export ban on rare earths to Japan collapsed in just a few months. China in the short term is gaining an advantage with its export controls on rare earths, but long term, its actions are accelerating deglobalization. No other country is more dependent on continued globalization than China. In any event, the world’s consumers are now ramping up both the mining and processing of these minerals, and this will eventually erode China’s near monopoly.”