Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Why It Took China Six Years to Ban Rare Earth Exports

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Why It Took China Six Years to Ban Rare Earth Exports

When Donald Trump launched the trade war in 2018, his primary objective was to stall China’s technological rise. At that time, China already held a near-monopoly over the mining, refining, and processing of rare earth elements — the critical raw materials behind semiconductors, EVs, and advanced weapons systems.

Yet China’s first retaliation wasn’t to weaponize rare earths. Instead, it canceled soybean purchases from the United States — a move aimed directly at the American heartland, targeting Trump’s voter base and exposing U.S. agricultural dependence on Chinese demand.

So, why did China wait until 2024 to restrict and 2025 to ban rare earth exports?

The answer lies in a single element: Helium.

Helium — The Grandmother of All Sanctions

If rare earth is the mother of all sanctions, then helium is its grandmother.

Since 1917, the United States has maintained complete dominance over helium technology and production. During the 20th century, only ten companies worldwide produced helium — four were American, and the rest operated under U.S.-licensed technology.

By 1925, helium was declared a national security material, subject to strict export control. The reason? Helium is essential in nuclear research, semiconductor fabrication, missile guidance systems, and any industrial process requiring an inert, non-reactive environment.

By 1960, a U.S. federal law mandated that all domestically produced helium could only be sold to the U.S. government, which would then decide case-by-case which countries — if any — could import it.

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China’s Early Struggles with Helium:

Before 2023, the U.S. held the world’s largest helium stockpile, while China had less than 0.1% of global reserves. Worse, China lacked even the proper infrastructure for helium storage.

When the Sino-Soviet split occurred in 1958, China was abruptly cut off from its only helium source. To sustain its nascent space program, China began researching helium production independently.

By 1960, two years after the split, China built its first helium research facility in Sichuan. It took eleven more years for Chinese scientists to master the complete process of helium extraction and purification — entirely free of American technology.

By the early 1970s, China could produce only 3,000 cubic meters of helium annually — a tiny fraction of the 20 million cubic meters it needed. But, as history often shows, every revolution starts small.

Helium: The Hidden Battlefield:

Until 2023, despite vast advances, China still relied heavily on foreign companies for helium storage and transshipment. This dependence made any retaliation involving rare earths risky — because the U.S. could still choke China’s helium supply in response.

source : Kevin LIANG