At the Chinese foreign ministry’s regular briefing on Oct. 21, a reporter asked about a Financial Times report that Japan’s stock of the rare earth yttrium is about to run out. Spokeswoman Mao Ning said China applies export controls on Japan in accordance with laws and regulations. Japan has reportedly asked the United States for help.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency said the Financial Times reported on Oct. 20, citing sources, that Japan’s yttrium inventory would last only a few months. Japan has asked the U.S. government and several American companies to press China to ease export controls, the report said. A Japanese government official was quoted as saying shortages could appear as early as the end of this year unless China changes policy or Western allies find substitutes or extra stock.
광고 문의 · 300×250Yttrium withstands high heat and is used in displays, semiconductors, lasers and thermal coatings for aircraft jet engines. The report relayed by CNA said a shortage could hit the auto, defense and chip industries. Argus data cited in it put the price of yttrium oxide outside China at $1,150 per kilogram, up 179-fold in two years, against $9 per kilogram inside China.
The foreign ministry’s answer
According to People’s Daily and The Paper, Mao Ning said China imposes export controls on Japan in accordance with laws and regulations, with the aim of stopping Japan’s ‘re-militarization’ and nuclear ambitions. She added that China’s position of safeguarding the stability and security of global supply chains for critical minerals has not changed and that all parties have a responsibility to play a constructive role.
The spokeswoman reportedly gave no specific figures on yttrium stock levels or on Japan’s request for U.S. mediation. In the reports this newspaper checked, the Japanese government had not issued an official reaction to the story; all statements from Japanese officials came secondhand from anonymous sources.
Background to the dispute
The U.S. side’s claims were reported as well. According to CNA, U.S. officials say China has not fully honored the pledge in last October’s trade truce to ease rare-earth export controls, and a senior U.S. official said last month that China had delivered only two-thirds of its supply commitments to the United States and allowed Japan only the minimum needed. No Chinese rebuttal of that claim appears in the confirmed reports.
An Argus analysis presented by Caixin Global in August judged that Japan’s rare-earth shortage would last until at least 2027, with Japanese manufacturers securing about two-thirds of what they need. The same report said China banned dual-use exports to entities linked to the Japanese military earlier this year and placed rare-earth controls on 40 Japanese firms. Japan is widening alternative sourcing, including supply tie-ups with Australia’s Lynas, but the analysis says large-scale output takes one to two years.
With the two sides’ claims opposed, the facts and their assessment diverge. China stresses security grounds and lawful administration, while some Japanese and U.S. officials see the controls as effective supply pressure. Stock levels and the scope of controls both rest on one party’s account, and this newspaper could not independently verify either side’s figures.
