Old priorities, new contexts

The institutional roots and new developments of China's rare earth policy

Francesca Ghiretti, Conlan Ellis

Expert InsightsPublished Feb 4, 2026

China’s rare earth elements (REE) policy emerges as a carefully engineered strategy that blends decades old institutional planning with recent assertive measures to secure first and foremost resilience and then dominance across the entire REE value chain. This perspective unpacks how Beijing has been adapting old priorities to changing internal and external contexts and fused resource control, collaboration with foreign entities, technological upgrading, and geopolitical ambition to build a system that not only shapes global supply chains but also strengthens its leverage over international actors at a moment when global dependence on these critical materials becomes a strategic vulnerability.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Ghiretti, Francesca and Conlan Ellis, Old priorities, new contexts: The institutional roots and new developments of China's rare earth policy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA4756-1.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This work was conducted within the Defense, Security and Justice Program within RAND Europe.

This publication is part of the RAND expert insights series. The expert insights series presents perspectives on timely policy issues.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.