China's Critical-Mineral Controls Have Become a System

China’s critical-mineral export controls have widened since April 2025 — now consolidated under one security law and reaching China-origin goods abroad.

The read. What began as targeted licensing on a handful of heavy rare earths has consolidated into a standing system under a single supply-chain security law. The shift that matters is scope: the entity list now reaches China-origin goods even after they leave the country, so the controls follow the material rather than the border.

What it means. For investors with China-linked inputs in Southeast Asian supply chains, this exposure is no longer episodic — counterparty and input screening should be treated as routine diligence. The lapse of the broader truce in November is the next checkpoint worth pricing in.