Highlights

• Chinese rare earth miners reported significant revenue jumps following Beijing's 2025 export restrictions on strategic minerals
• Export controls serve both geopolitical strategy and domestic resource conservation goals
• China's current pricing power faces potential long-term challenges from emerging alternative supply chains in Australia and North America

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Nikkei Asia’s Kenji Kawase reports that Chinese rare earth miners are back in the black after Beijing’s April 2025 export restrictions on seven strategic minerals sent global prices soaring. The numbers cited check out: China Rare Earth Resources and Technology reported a 62% revenue jump to ¥1.87 billion ($262 million), swinging from a loss to ¥161.7 million in profit. Northern Rare Earth, China’s volume leader, also posted revenue up 45% to ¥18.86 billion, with profit multiplying twentyfold. These gains align with both company filings and market trends observed after the restrictions.

The Spin Cycle: Framing Restriction as Strategy

The article (opens in a new tab) frames China’s export curbs as “weaponizing” rare earths in its trade war with Washington. That language, while catchy, leans speculative. Export controls certainly serve Beijing’s geopolitical playbook, but they are equally aimed at domestic resource conservation and pricing discipline—a longstanding policy concern in China’s rare earth sector. Labeling it purely as a weapon risks oversimplifying a complex industrial strategy.  Rare Earth Exchanges suggests both dynamics are at play, unfolding.

The Cracks Beneath the Boom

Notably, the report touches on volatility: while miners profited this round, their dependency on state-directed export levers underscores fragility. Rising Nonferrous Metals, another unit of China Rare Earth Group, even warned that U.S. and Australian supply chain build-outs could erode Beijing’s pricing power. This risk disclosure is fact-based and highlights the real competitive pressure taking shape outside China. Investors should note: short-term profit highs mask longer-term threats.

What’s Missing from the Picture

The article stops short of probing deeper into the supply chain context. For example, export curbs hit Western manufacturers hard—but didn’t fully sever supply. Smuggling, stockpiles, and alternative sourcing blunt the“tatters” narrative. Nor does the piece weigh how China’s rising import dependence for raw materials (documented in recent academic work) complicates its dominance story. These blind spots matter for investors seeking a balanced view.

Why This Matters Now

For global markets, the takeaway is clear: China can still move prices with policy, but every restriction accelerates alternative supply chains in Australia, North America, and beyond. REEx suggests that the Nikkei Asia piece is directionally accurate on profits, but speculative in tone on geopolitics, and narrow in scope.

Savvy readers should see both the opportunity in price volatility—and the inevitability of a more competitive rare earth landscape.

Citation: Kawase, K. (2025, September 4). China’s rare earth miners rise and PCB booms in Thailand. Nikkei Asia / Financial Times.

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