- Pakistan assured that its cooperation with the US in mining will not affect China’s interests or bilateral partnership; Export controls nothing to do with Islamabad
China on Tuesday rejected media reports suggesting Pakistan had given rare earth samples to the United States, calling them “misinformed, invented, or designed to drive a wedge” between the two countries.
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said this while answering a question regarding the use of Chinese technology by Pakistan to export rare earth to the US.
“The samples that the Pakistani leaders showed and gave to the U.S. leader are gem ores purchased by staff in Pakistan. The reported stories are either misinformed or invented, or even designed to drive a wedge between China and Pakistan. They are just baseless,” he said during a regular press briefing.
He added that China and Pakistan have been in communication over Pakistan-U.S. mining cooperation, and that Islamabad had assured Beijing its engagement with Washington “will never harm China’s interests or its cooperation with China.”
Lin further clarified that “China’s recently released export control measures on related rare earth items have nothing to do with Pakistan,” calling them “a legitimate action” by the government to refine export control systems and fulfill international obligations.
Lin reaffirmed that China and Pakistan are “all-weather strategic cooperative partners” whose “iron-clad friendship has stood the test of time.” He said both countries maintain “high-level strategic mutual trust and close communication on major issues concerning each other’s common interests.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s clarification came after reports surfaced about Pakistan’s first shipment of enriched rare earth elements and critical minerals to the U.S. Strategic Metals (USSM), a Missouri-based company.
On October 10, China dramatically expanded export controls on rare earths and related technologies, in a move that intensified its grip on global supply chains and raised tensions with the United States ahead of an expected meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this month.
The new rules will take effect on November 8, just two days before the current U.S.–China trade truce expires on November 10. The measures restrict exports of rare-earth extraction and separation technologies, synthetic diamond powders, single crystals, diamond wire saws, and related materials.
China controls over 60% of global rare-earth production, around 70% of lithium and cobalt refining, and over 90% of battery-grade graphite output, giving it a dominant position in critical minerals essential to advanced manufacturing and defense technologies.
