China has suspended its ban on approving exports of “dual-use materials” to the US until 27 July 2026, the country’s Ministry of Commerce said.
The decision applies to exports of gallium, germanium and stibium.
Beijing announced a ban on exports of these elements in December 2024.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump earlier agreed to lower tariffs and suspend other trade measures for a year.
The global supply of rare earth elements, an important group of 17 elements used in everything from electric car batteries to vital defence technology, is largely controlled by China.
Beijing controls more than two-thirds of the world’s rare earth element production and more than 90 per cent of processing capacity. China also effectively maintains a monopoly on the global processing of heavy rare earth elements used in the US defence sector to produce the powerful magnets needed to make fighter jets, warships, missiles, tanks and lasers.