Both sides confirm extension of trade arrangements; new export restrictions on critical raw materials go unmentioned.
As expected, the additional restrictions on rare earth exports due to take effect on November 10 played only a minor role at the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The talks focused instead on broader trade and technology issues as well as geopolitical topics such as Taiwan and Iran.
For now, this leaves the situation largely where U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had described it: the existing trade agreement has been extended by two months, until January 10, 2027. He Yadong, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, has since also confirmed that the two sides agreed during their latest talks in New York to extend the arrangements reached during the trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur.
Neither side explicitly mentioned rare earths or the additional export controls. However, as the suspension of these measures formed part of the arrangements agreed in Kuala Lumpur, their extension strongly suggests that the additional export restrictions will also be postponed by two months. Formal confirmation of the extended suspension is still pending.
Background: China had suspended the additional export controls announced in October 2025 until November 10, 2026. The measures cover additional rare earth elements as well as certain equipment, machinery and intermediate products used in their mining, separation and processing. They would also allow licensing requirements to be applied to products made abroad if they contain Chinese rare earths or were produced using Chinese technology. Particularly strict rules were envisaged for military end-users and certain high-tech applications.
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