This week, China banned exports of several critical minerals to the United States. It marks the latest move in a series of escalating trade-restrictive retaliations between the world’s two largest economies.
By explicitly blocking, rather than simply restricting, strategically important materials for the semiconductor, defense, and electric vehicle sectors, China has clearly crossed a new red line in its long-simmering trade war.
But at the same time, the choice of minerals that won’t disrupt any industry leaves China with plenty of ammunition to inflict even greater economic pain against further trade restrictions that the incoming Trump administration may impose. . Read more about the motivations for China’s decision, how it affects climate technology, and what happens next.
—James Temple
This story is part of the MIT Technology Review Explains series. Our writers help you unravel the complex and messy world of technology and understand what’s coming next. You can read the rest of the series here.
3 things that didn’t make the list of 10 breakthrough technologies of 2025
Next month, MIT Technology Review will publish its list of 10 breakthrough technologies for 2025. Every year, our newsroom looks for technologies that are having true breakthrough moments across the areas we cover. This annual package focuses on the technologies we believe are most important today.
In the meantime, here are three technologies we considered including on our 2025 list but ultimately decided to exclude. Although these candidates were not selected this year, they are still worth keeping an eye on. Please read the full text.