China's magnet exports to US slammed in May as Beijing's rare earth curbs hit: data
The volume of China's export shipments of magnets to the US, a chokepoint in the ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies, plunged in volume by 93.3 per cent in May, year on year, according to the latest customs data.
Advertisement
China exported around 46.4 tonnes of magnets to the US last month. It was also a sharp month-on-month decline of 81 per cent from 246.3 tonnes shipped in April.
The total export of magnets, which dominate China's critical minerals shipments, fell by nearly 74.3 per cent, year on year, in volume last month, and declined more than 76.1 per cent in value, according to data released on Friday.
The drastic decline in exports – following export controls imposed by Beijing to counter Washington's sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods – has piled pressure on US manufacturers in the defence, energy and automotive sectors.
Meanwhile, exports to Germany, Europe's manufacturing powerhouse, dropped last month by 70 per cent in volume, year on year, while shipments to Japan fell by 84.1 per cent.
Advertisement
Addressing the highly watched export controls of critical minerals, China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, He Yadong, said on Thursday that the country has been accelerating the review of rare earth-related export licence applications in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and has approved a number of them.
'China is willing to enhance communication and dialogue with relevant countries on export controls and actively promote the facilitation of compliant trade,' He added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Xia Baolong holds 3-hour closed-door talks with Hong Kong business leaders
Beijing's top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs held a three-hour closed-door discussion with local tycoons and business leaders on the third day of his inspection trip to the city on Friday. Advertisement Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also visited Ocean Park in the afternoon before taking a boat trip to Lamma Island. The exchanges on Friday morning, held at the government headquarters in Admiralty, marked the first time since last November that Xia had direct talks with local business elites in Shenzhen. Tycoons at the meeting included Peter Lee Ka-kit, chairman and managing director of Henderson Land Development; Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, chairman of Hopewell Holdings; Stephen Ng Tin-hoi, chairman and managing director of the Wharf Holdings; and Sonia Cheng Chi-man, executive director of New World Development. Wingco Lo Kam-wing, president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, and Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, were also among those seen streaming into the venue. Xia Baolong meets the city's tycoons and other business leaders at government headquarters. Photo: Handout Financial sector heavyweights, including Carlson Tong Ka-shing, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, and Haywood Cheung Tak-hay, chairman of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange, also showed up.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
‘We're not billiard balls': how China's EU charm offensive fell flat
For half a year, a heated debate has raged over whether US President Donald Trump 's return to office would push Europe and China closer together. Pragmatists, realpolitikers and Beijing's allies argued that the EU could not afford a trade war with both of the world's largest economies while footing the bill for a hot war in Ukraine For months, EU leaders fuelled the speculation by voicing openness to deeper trade ties with Beijing, in a dramatic rhetorical shift from the previous three years of hostilities. But the debate appears to have been settled this week with a resounding 'no'. Behind-the-scenes impatience with China's failure to put any meat on the bones of a much-vaunted charm offensive has spilled into the public realm. Brussels, staggered by Beijing's failure to move even an inch on its trade gripes, has had enough. 'The current global trading system is not working as it should. Guard rails are clearly missing. On this point, Donald is right,' said Ursula von der Leyen at this week's G7 summit in Canada , referring to China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 as 'the biggest challenge' facing the global order.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
TikTok ‘continues to work with' VP Vance on deal as its US fate hangs in the balance
TikTok, the popular short video app owned by China's ByteDance, thanked US President Donald Trump, while stating it was still working with Vice-President J.D. Vance who was tasked with brokering a deal under a sell-or-ban law. While TikTok's fate remains in limbo after Trump offered another 90-day postponement on the deadline for a deal, it will not be business as usual and a US sale could result in a bifurcated platform given the deal's complexity due to China's export rules, according to analysts. TikTok said on Thursday that it was 'grateful' for Trump's deadline extension, now set at September 17, which would allow it to keep serving its 170 million American users. It also said that it 'continues to work with Vice-President Vance's Office', which has been tasked with overseeing the deal process. There has been no update from Vance since March, when he said his team was 'trying to close this thing by early April'. However, negotiations collapsed amid escalating US-China trade tensions. On April 5, Trump extended the deadline to June 19. He first delayed it on January 20 when he took office. A view of the offices of TikTok in Culver City, California, April 2, 2025. Photo: Reuters Despite the negotiations for a trade truce, TikTok has not been named in the discussions. Beijing has remained silent on the matter, other than China's foreign affairs ministry issuing repeated statements saying that the TikTok case would be handled 'according to China's laws and regulations'.
