China's exports of rare earth magnets jump ahead of Trump-Xi meeting

BEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) - Chinese exports of rare earth magnets in the first two months of 2026 rose 8.2% from the same period the year before, customs data showed on Friday, ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world's two largest economies.

• Outbound shipments from the world's largest producer of rare earth magnets used in everything from cellphones to automotives to defence sectors stood at 10,763 metric tons between January and February, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

• Exports in January and February stood at 6,024 tons and 4,739 tons, respectively, versus 6,357 tons and 3,585 tons in the prior year before Beijing placed several medium to heavy elements and magnets under export restrictions last April.

• U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he is seeking to delay his scheduled March 31-April 2 trip to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for a month due to the Iran war.

• Germany, South Korea, the United States, Vietnam and France are China's top five rare earth magnets export destinations between January and February.

• Exports to the U.S. slid 22.5% on the year to 994 tons during the January and February period.

• Exports to Japan rose by 9.5% to 444 tons during the same period.