The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Photo: VCGChina's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on Thursday that it will impose control measures on the export of rare-earth items to foreign entities. The move aims to safeguard national security and interests, and is in accordance with relevant regulations, including the Export Control Law and the Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items, with the approval of the State Council of China, the country's cabinet, according to a statement on MOFCOM's website.

Under the new measures, foreign organizations and individuals need to gain licenses from the MOFCOM before exporting certain items, including rare earth permanent magnet and rare earth target materials manufactured overseas that contain, integrate, or are mixed with rare earth metals or oxides originating from China, where the value of these Chinese-origin materials constitutes at least 0.1 percent of the total value.

Meanwhile, rare earth metals and oxide manufactured outside China yet involving Chinese relevant technologies in the process of rare earth mining, smelting and separation, metal smelting, magnetic material manufacturing, or rare earth secondary resource recycling should also apply for the license, the statement noted. The two new regulations will take effect on December 1.

And all exports involving rare earth metals and oxide originating from China need to apply before exporting immediately.

Chinese regulators will not approve export applications for foreign military users, as well as export applications for importers and end-users listed on export control or watch lists. Meanwhile, export applications for end-uses or potential end-uses in areas such as design, development, production, or use of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, terrorist purposes, as well as military purposes or enhancement of military capabilities will also not been approved.

With regards to export applications for end-uses involving the research, development, or production of logic chips with a process node of 14 nanometers or below, memory chips with 256 layers or more, as well as production equipment, testing equipment, and materials for manufacturing semiconductors of the aforementioned processes, or for the development of artificial intelligence with potential military applications, will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, the statement noted.