China announces one-year suspension of expanded rare earth export controls

Workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province on Dec. 30, 2010. (Chinatopix via AP)

BEIJING -- China suspended an array of export control measures it imposed on Oct. 9, including expanded curbs on some rare earths materials and equipment, as well as lithium battery materials and super-hard materials, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The suspensions were effective immediately and would apply through Nov. 10, 2026, the ministry said.

The announcement confirmed and formalized an agreement reached after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping hammered out a trade truce last month.

The White House and China’s Commerce Ministry had both said such an announcement was forthcoming.

(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Reuters)