China plans whistleblower hotline to help it catch critical mineral smugglers

Reuters | June 24, 2026 | 9:06 am Critical Minerals Regulatory Issues China Rare Earth

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China on Wednesday announced plans for a whistleblower hotline to encourage citizens to report smuggling ‌of restricted critical minerals, as Beijing continues its crackdown on a sector that has provided so much diplomatic leverage.

Organizations and citizens can report a wide range of export control breaches, including ⁠transshipment, to the Ministry of Commerce, which said it may in some cases grant rewards.

Tipsters must call during business hours, with the hotline closed for 2.5 hours over lunch. Information can also be submitted via an online form.

China processes the vast majority of the world’s rare earths, and used its ‌control ⁠over production to great diplomatic effect during the trade war with the US.

Because previous rounds of Chinese rare earth export controls were undermined by massive smuggling, the latest ⁠restrictions have coincided with a state-led crackdown on attempts to circumvent the regime.

China’s spy agency said last year ⁠that foreign agents were colluding with domestic lawbreakers to steal rare earths and vowed to crack down ⁠on the practice.

Two Japanese nationals suspected of smuggling rare earths were detained last month.