European Chamber Sounds Alarm Over China’s Expanding Export Control Regime Go back »

2026-04-14 | All chapters

Beijing, 14^th April 2026 – The European Chamber today published Exporting Control: China’s New Strategic Toolkit, which details how China’s export control regime has developed into a powerful means of controlling the global availability of strategic goods.

While export controls remain an important tool for preventing the proliferation of weapons, they have increasingly been repurposed as strategic trade measures, first by the United States (US) and now China. The EU must now respond to this challenge to ensure its economic security.

Throughout 2025, the US-China trade war saw both sides increase their use of export controls, in tandem with tit-for-tat tariffs. European companies were caught in the crossfire, in particular by China’s imposition of export controls on rare earth elements (REEs), which led to significant supply chain disruptions and lost revenue for European companies. While the export control licensing process—which can take several months to complete—has seen marginal improvements over last year, many companies remain in a perpetual state of uncertainty.

Optimising the licence application process would help to alleviate short-term headaches, but China’s intention to further expand its overall export control framework presents a long-term business risk. On 9^th October 2025, China announced it would increase restrictions on REEs, with added controls on lithium-ion battery technology, superhard materials and equipment needed for the mining and processing of REEs and magnets, while including extraterritorial provisions for the first time.

Although these measures were suspended until November 2026, following an agreement with the US, their impending entry into force threatens to upend global supply chains, compelling other countries and companies to take appropriate mitigating actions. Continuing down this path will put additional stress on the global trading system, leading to further fragmentation, to the detriment of both the EU and China.

“Amid an increasingly turbulent global environment, China is well placed to leverage its strengths and demonstrate to it key trading partners, like the EU, that it can be relied upon as a sourcing destination for critical goods,” said Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber. “However, the country’s expanding export control regime threatens this, we believe unnecessarily. Implementing export controls in a targeted and precise way that prevents the trade of dual-use goods for military uses, while ensuring that legitimate civilian trade is not disrupted, would contribute to more mutually beneficial outcomes.”

Please click here to download the report.

中国欧盟商会对中国日益强化的出口管制体系表示担忧

2026年4月14日，北京——中国欧盟商会今日发布《出口管控：中国的新型战略工具箱》。报告指出，中国出口管制体系已发展成为管控全球战略物资的有力途径。

出口管制是防武器扩散的重要途径，但是首先是美国继而现在的中国已逐步将其发展成战略贸易措施。欧盟须对此作出回应，以保障其经济安全。

2025年中美贸易战持续升级，双方相互加征关税，频繁实施出口管制措施。中美贸易战，尤其是中国对稀土物项实施的出口管制严重波及欧洲公司，导致其供应链出现严重中断，营收受损。过去一年，出口许可证申请流程虽有所改善，但耗时仍长达数月，导致诸多公司仍长期面临高度不确定性。

优化出口许可证申请流程虽有助于缓解企业短期压力，但长期而言，中国持续强化其出口管制体系将构成商业风险。2025年10月9日，中国宣布将加强对稀土相关物项与技术的出口管制，对锂电池、超硬材料、稀土和永磁生产加工设备、以及首次对境外相关稀土物项等实施出口管制。

虽经中美经贸磋商，中国将暂停实施相关出口管制措施至2026年11月。但此类措施一旦正式生效，或将对全球供应链造成冲击，迫使其他国家及企业采取适当应对举措。长此以往，这将加剧全球贸易体系的压力，造成分化，并进一步对中欧双方造成不利影响。

中国欧盟商会主席彦辞表示：“在国际环境日益动荡的局势下，中国应依托自身优势，向包括欧盟在内的贸易伙伴表明：中国是值得各方信赖的关键商品供应来源地。然而，中国不断强化的出口管制体系对此造成了不必要的冲击。对出口管制实施精准把控，严防两用物项用于军事用途，维护民用贸易秩序，将更有利于达成互利共赢的局面。”

点击此处下载报告全文。

For more information please contact