Yesterday, China's Ministry of Commerce sanctioned 40 Japanese firms across the aerospace, defense, and heavy industrial sectors under its export control laws, enforcing stricter licensing requirements or outright bans.

Taiwan has tightened its export controls on high‑tech and military‑related goods in a move to align its rules with international regimes, according to the government.

In 2025, China’s implementation of export controls has shifted into a phase of routinized, high‑intensity enforcement, with a specific target of strategic sectors such as rare earths, advanced materials, drones and sensitive chemicals, according to reports.

China's exports of rare earths and products using rare earths rose during the final two months of 2025, according to official Customs data. The year-end growth in both volume and value reflects a broader trend of increased activity after the initial dip in May.

The Trump administration has authorized Nvidia to sell its H200 AI chips to China, with a new mechanism designed to allow the government to capture a portion of the profit from the sales. However, the path forward for these exports remains precarious, facing regulatory challenges in both Beijing and Washington.

At a press conference last week, the spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) defended the Ministry's targeted export controls against Japan, characterizing them as "justified, reasonable, and legal" responses to Japan's alleged "threat of force against China" and "

In parallel moves this week, the Trump administration established rules for the authorization of the export sale of certain advanced chips to China, and also set a tariff that serves as an indirect way to collect revenue on those sales.