China, which has tightly controlled the overseas transfer of rare-earth processing technology, is showing a cooperative stance toward Iran, drawing attention. The move is welcome news for Iran, which holds large rare-earth deposits but lacks processing technology. Analysts note, however, that the timing could provoke the United States, which is sensitive about rare-earth supply chains, ahead of a U.S.-China summit in September.
According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 13th local time, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) announced a new joint workshop program with Iran's national science foundation on the 10th. Among the five programs unveiled, one titled "Exploration and Processing of Rare-Earth Elements" stood out. The other workshop topics were nanomaterials for disease detection, pollution monitoring, earthquake-resistant construction and eco-friendly manufacturing.
The SCMP noted that the cooperation came at a highly sensitive moment, with the conflict between the United States and Iran still unresolved. It is also a delicate time given that Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States is a month away.
Since the two institutions pledged to cooperate in 2017, they have funded joint research projects across a wide range of fields, from biology and medicine to artificial intelligence (AI). The joint workshop program began in 2024. This is the first time the two sides have collaborated on rare earths.
Rare earths, a group of 17 metals, are essential to modern weapons, from missiles and fighter jets to radar and other electronic systems. China holds the world's largest rare-earth deposits and dominates global production and processing, while increasingly tightening restrictions on the overseas transfer of related technology.
Iran's rare-earth potential remains little known but may be substantial. Iran's geological structure is said to contain iron ore and phosphate formations associated with rare-earth deposits. According to an exploratory analysis conducted in February this year by a research institute in The Hague, the Netherlands, high concentrations of rare-earth elements were measured at a depth of about 7,000 square meters in central Iran. However, the deposits have not been confirmed, and Iran's extraction and processing capabilities remain in an early stage, leaving a long way to go before reaching commercial and industrial scale.
The United States is facing supply difficulties due to China's rare-earth export controls. In particular, demand for weapons-grade rare earths is high after a six-month conflict nearly depleted its missile stockpiles. According to a recent Reuters report, the Trump administration announced it would invest $3 billion (about 4 trillion won) in critical mineral and battery projects to rebuild weapons inventories and reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.
U.S.-China Investment Panel Also 'Stalls'... "Diplomatic Contact Markedly Lower"
As the two sides engage in a tense standoff ahead of the summit, the U.S.-China Investment Panel — a key achievement during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China last May — is also said to be stalled. The panel had originally been expected to be announced as a result of Xi's visit to the United States in September. Last month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer discussed how to implement the two panels with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng via video call, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the panels' operation in a 90-minute meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, but the two sides appear to be struggling to produce results.
Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, said in an interview with the SCMP on the 13th that neither side had yet begun the consultation process and did not appear ready to engage with the private sector. The biggest cause is disagreement within the United States over Chinese investment in the country. Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of Chinese automakers building plants in the United States, but his administration is wary of it over concerns about espionage, Chinese government subsidies and unfair competition.
By contrast, negotiations over the U.S.-China Trade Panel, aimed at tariff-free trade in non-sensitive goods, are moving faster. Last month, the Chinese Embassy in the United States cited agriculture and aviation as priority areas for tariff reductions and said the two countries had agreed in principle to expand trade in agricultural goods.
Even so, former Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler voiced concern, saying that even the trade panel was making slow progress and that the chairs and specific mandates of the two panels had yet to be set, and that the intensity of diplomatic contact ahead of this summit was markedly lower than before past top-level talks.
