Amid intensifying great-power competition over critical minerals, rare earth elements have become increasingly significant as strategic resources. In recent years, drawing on its structural advantages in the rare earth industry while responding to growing external constraints, China has gradually strengthened its rare earth export controls, attracting widespread international attention regarding the motivations and implications of these policies. Taking rare earth export controls as the analytical entry point, this study develops a Structure–Mechanism– Outcome framework to examine the policy logic underlying these measures from the dual perspective of structural advantages and constraints. The study finds that China’s tightening of rare earth export controls since 2023 should not be understood as a short-term retaliatory measure, but rather as an economic statecraft practice characterized by institutionalization and a defensive orientation, rooted in China’s structural advantages in the rare earth supply chain. Institutionalization is reflected in cross-ministerial coordination and the expansion of control targets from raw materials to technologies and key segments of the supply chain. The defensive orientation is manifested in the use of rule-based policy instruments—such as export licensing and control lists—to manage the cross-border flow of rare earth resources rather than imposing comprehensive trade restrictions. This analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of the policy logic and broader implications of critical mineral governance in the context of great-power competition.

在大国关键矿产竞争加剧的背景下，稀土作为战略性资源的重要性日益凸显。近年 来，中国依托稀土产业的结构性优势，并在多重外部约束下，逐步加强了对稀土及相关技 术的出口管制，引发国际社会对其政策动机与影响的广泛关注。本文以稀土出口管制为切 入点，构建“结构—机制—效果”分析框架，从优势与约束的双重视角出发，剖析相关政策措 施背后的运作逻辑。研究发现，2023年以来中国强化稀土出口管制并非短期反制措施，而 是一种基于结构性优势、具有“制度化”与“防御性”特征的经济治国方略（economic state craft）实践，并对相关国家与企业的风险认知及供应链决策产生重要影响。其中，制度化 体现在多部门协同治理以及管制对象向技术与供应链关键环节的扩展；防御性则表现为通过出口许可与管制清单等规则化工具，对稀土跨境流动实施风险管理，而非全面限制贸 易。本文有助于深化对大国竞争背景下关键矿产政策运作逻辑的理解。

【目 录】
【摘要】
1. 引言
2. 文献综述
    1) 中国稀土政策的多学科研究视角
    2) 经济治国方略视角下的资源政策工具化
3. 结构性优势与挑战
    1) 结构性优势
    2) 现实约束与挑战
4. 稀土出口管制的机制与影响
5. 结论
【参考文献】
【论文摘要】

• 張慧怡(成均馆大学东亚学术院东亚学博士研究生) | 장혜이