Beijing Tightens Rare-Earth Controls, Lifts Local Miners’ Shares

China’s government has introduced a new regulatory framework that tightens supervision of the country’s rare-earth sector, requiring mining and processing companies to submit regular production data and submit to closer scrutiny of their supply chains. The measures, announced on Monday, aim to consolidate oversight of an industry that produces the bulk of the world’s rare-earth elements—materials critical to defence systems, electric vehicles and other advanced technologies. Investors welcomed the move, sending shares of leading Chinese rare-earth producers higher in Monday trading. Analysts said Beijing’s stricter controls could reinforce the country’s leverage over global supply just as the United States and Europe try to diversify sources and build domestic capacity. The step also underscores how strategic materials remain a flashpoint in the broader trade tensions that have slowed growth in China’s export-oriented provinces and prompted fresh calls in the West for stronger industrial policy.