European Union leaders plan to use next month’s high-level summit with China to push for improved access to critical minerals and rare earths, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The summit, set for July 24–25 in Beijing, comes as tensions grow over trade disputes and export restrictions.
The EU delegation—led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa—will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Their primary agenda: addressing China’s tightening of export licences on rare earth alloys, magnets, and mixtures, which has created production concerns for European automakers and manufacturers.
China, which controls the majority of global rare earth output, has offered to expedite licensing for EU firms through a so-called “green channel.” Yet according to diplomats and business leaders, less than half of the hundreds of licence applications have made meaningful progress, and customs delays continue even after approvals.
Amid the broader trade friction—ranging from European tariffs on Chinese EVs to China’s retaliatory measures on EU brandy—Brussels aims to secure longer-term or exemption-based rare earth agreements that distinguish the EU from the U.S. The summit falls just two weeks before a U.S. deadline for allies to align on new tariff deals, further complicating EU negotiations with Beijing.
While major breakthroughs are unlikely, EU leaders hope to leverage the symbolic 50th anniversary of EU-China relations to press their case. A European official noted, “China is playing its cards very well,” suggesting Beijing sees rare earths as a strategic bargaining chip.
