China Spy Agency Targets Illicit Rare Earth Shipments to US
By Reuters | 17 Jul, 2025

Infiltration and espionage targeting "critical" mineral sector by foreign spy agencies has become the focus of China's State Security as it tries to maintain tight controls over rare earth exports.

A sample of antimony is displayed at the Natural History Museum in London, Britain, June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo

China's Ministry of State Security on Friday said foreign spy agencies had tried to "steal" rare earths and pledged to crack down on infiltration and espionage targeted at its critical mineral sector. 

Foreign intelligence agencies and their agents had colluded with "domestic lawbreakers" to steal rare earth-related items from China, posing a serious threat to China's national security, the spy agency said in a statement on its WeChat account without naming any specific country.

The ministry said it had detected attempts by an unnamed country to bypass export restrictions by forging labels, falsifying cargo manifests and transshipping cargoes, where products are routed through third countries before going to their final destination.

Reuters reported exclusively this month that unusually large quantities of antimony - a metal used in batteries, chips and flame retardants - appeared to have been transshipped into the United States via Thailand and Mexico after China banned U.S. exports.

China added several rare earths and related magnets to its export restriction list in early April in retaliation for U.S. tariffs.

The decision rattled global supply chains key to electric vehicles, robots and defence, forcing some automakers outside China to partially suspend production due to shortages.

However, China's rare earths exports rose 32% in June from the month before in a potential sign that agreements reached last month between Washington and Beijing to free up the flow of the metals are bearing fruit.

Nvidia's planned resumption of sales of its H20 AI chips to China was part of the rare earth negotiations.

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson in Beijing; Editing by Kate Mayberry)