White House says China to lift rare earth export bans, stop probes into US tech companies

Steven

White House says China to lift rare earth export bans, stop probes into US tech companies

Summary

The White House published a fact sheet saying China has agreed to lift restrictions on rare earth exports and to terminate investigations targeting US semiconductor companies, including probes into Nvidia, Qualcomm and Micron. It also said China will take measures to resume trade from Nexperia’s facilities in China to allow critical legacy chips to flow to global markets. At the time of publication, Beijing had not publicly confirmed the White House’s claims; China’s Ministry of Commerce has, however, said it will consider exemptions to an export ban affecting Nexperia and blamed the Netherlands for the situation.

The article is part of an Asia news roundup that also covers Singapore’s seizure of assets linked to an alleged scam operator, an Australian raid on WiseTech, Google’s Gemini Pro giveaway via Jio in India, ESA opening an office in Tokyo, and IDC’s prediction of a surge in Indian enterprise infrastructure spending.

Key Points

  • The White House says China will lift rare earth export bans — rare earths are critical for most high-tech products.
  • China reportedly agreed to terminate investigations into US semiconductor firms, naming Nvidia, Qualcomm and Micron.
  • China will “take appropriate measures” to resume trade from Nexperia’s Chinese facilities to restore flow of legacy chips.
  • Beijing had not confirmed the White House announcement at the time of reporting; the Ministry of Commerce blamed the Netherlands for the Nexperia dispute and mentioned possible exemptions.
  • Other roundup items: Singapore seized over S$150m in assets linked to an alleged scam operator; WiseTech was raided over alleged insider trades; Google is offering free Gemini Pro to some Jio 5G subscribers; ESA to open a Tokyo office; IDC forecasts a 16.4% YoY growth in Indian enterprise infrastructure spend by CY2025.

Context and relevance

If true, this is a significant de-escalation in tech geopolitics. Rare earths are supply-chain chokepoints for chips, electric vehicles and defence tech; lifting export limits and ending probes would ease immediate pressure on manufacturers and could reduce price and availability concerns. For semiconductor and automotive supply chains the Nexperia note is especially relevant. However, the lack of a firm Chinese confirmation means markets and procurement teams should remain cautious—this may be a diplomatic announcement that still needs translating into concrete policy changes.

Why should I read this

Short version: if you buy chips, build hardware, run cloud services or fret about supply chains — this could save you headaches (or create new ones). It’s the kind of geopolitical move that shifts pricing, lead times and supplier priorities. Read it so you can decide whether to delay purchases, hedge suppliers or celebrate.

Source

Source: https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/03/asia_tech_news_roundup/