China’s latest rare earth trade policy. From April 10 to November 10, 2026, relevant rare earth export control measures will be temporarily suspended. As a phased arrangement, this policy opens a 7-month stable window for global procurement. It ensures smooth and efficient approval for compliant, civilian-only exports, stabilizes the global rare earth supply chain, and provides clear procurement guidelines for international downstream enterprises.

NdFeB permanent magnets are crucial for new energy, wind power and other fields, and neodymium oxide (Nd₂O₃) is a key raw material and additive affecting their performance. This paper briefly introduces the core action mechanism of neodymium oxide in NdFeB permanent magnets: it provides neodymium elements to form the Nd₂Fe₁₄B main magnetic phase, regulates the grain boundary structure to enhance coercivity, improves corrosion resistance, and optimizes process stability. Meanwhile, the recommended addition ratio of neodymium oxide is clarified: when used as the main phase neodymium source, the proportion is 25%-33% depending on the magnet type; when used as a grain boundary additive, it is 0.5%-2%. The rational control of neodymium oxide addition ratio is of great significance for balancing the magnetic properties, stability and cost of NdFeB permanent magnets.

Yttria (Y₂O₃) is a key rare earth oxide used for stabilizing zirconia (ZrO₂). Pure zirconia is prone to cracking due to crystal phase transformation and volume expansion during temperature changes, while yttria can inhibit this transformation by forming solid solutions with zirconia, thereby improving its stability and mechanical properties. According to the addition amount of yttria, partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) and fully stabilized zirconia (FSZ) can be prepared, which are widely applied in aerospace, energy, biomedicine and other high-end fields. Despite its higher cost, yttria is the preferred stabilizer for high-end scenarios due to its superior stabilizing effect.

Yttria (Y₂O₃) is an ideal coating material for precision components due to its excellent high-temperature resistance, plasma etching resistance and dielectric properties. Plasma spraying is the mainstream technology for preparing yttria coatings. This paper briefly introduces the preparation process of plasma-sprayed yttria coatings on precision components, emphasizing the key steps of substrate pretreatment and process parameter optimization. The results show that the optimized coating has excellent comprehensive performance, including high microhardness, low porosity, good bonding strength and strong plasma erosion resistance. The coating can effectively improve the service performance and service life of precision components, and is widely used in semiconductor, aerospace and other fields. Finally, the future development direction of optimizing the process to reduce coating defects and expand application scenarios is prospected.

Rare earths are critical strategic resources for global new energy, high-end manufacturing and defense industries. On February 24, 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued new export control rules on dual-use items to Japan, including a controlled list (20 entities) and a watch list (20 entities), aiming to curb Japan’s rearmament and nuclear ambitions and safeguard regional security. The measures, based on Chinese laws, are legitimate and reasonable. For rare earth exports, entities on the controlled list are banned from receiving shipments, while those on the watch list face stricter license reviews. Even non-listed entities linked to military use are prohibited from imports. Importantly, the measures only target a few non-compliant entities and dual-use items, without affecting normal civil rare earth trade. As a key rare earth exporter, we will prioritize compliance, verify customers against the lists, strengthen end-use checks, and promote stable civil cooperation between China and Japan to safeguard the global rare earth supply chain.

On February 8th local time, Japan’s House of Representatives election ended with a post-WWII record short interval of 16 days. The ruling coalition of LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai won a landslide victory, securing Sanae Takaichi’s continued tenure as Prime Minister, while the fragmented opposition failed to form an effective check. Takaichi’s radical governance, centered on “economic security first” and “supply chain autonomy,” will persist, with rare earths—a resource Japan heavily relies on China for (71.9% of imports, nearly 100% for heavy rare earths)—as a key focus. Her camp politicized rare earths before the election to mislead voters, and post-re-election, she plans to “de-Chinaize” the rare earth supply chain via deep-sea development and a 54-nation alliance, though these efforts face steep hurdles. Tied to her anti-China stance and Japan-U.S. alliance push, her “de-Chinaization” drive, if persisted, will bring heavy economic costs to Japan, while the rare earth game also reflects great power supply chain competition.

Ceramic substrates are critical foundational materials in high-end manufacturing fields such as electronic information, new energy, and aerospace, undertaking core functions of component bearing, heat conduction, and insulation isolation. Their performance directly determines the stability, reliability, and service life of terminal equipment. With the rapid iteration of 5G communication, new energy vehicles, and semiconductor packaging industries towards high frequency, high power, and miniaturization, traditional ceramic substrates face increasingly prominent bottlenecks in sintering difficulty, thermal conductivity efficiency, and high-frequency adaptability. As a rare earth oxide with unique physical and chemical properties, samarium oxide (Sm₂O₃) plays an irreplaceable role in the preparation and performance optimization of ceramic substrates by virtue of its excellent sintering aid and doping modification functions, becoming one of the core materials promoting technological breakthroughs in high-end ceramic substrates.Samarium oxide has the characteristics of high purity (up to 99.999% for high-end scenarios), high melting point, strong chemical stability, and excellent ionic conductivity. It can not only reduce the sintering temperature of ceramic substrates as a sintering aid but also regulate key properties such as thermal conductivity, dielectric property, and mechanical strength as a doping modifier, which is highly compatible with mainstream ceramic substrates such as aluminum nitride (AlN) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃).In practical applications, samarium oxide is mainly used in AlN ceramic substrates and high-purity Al₂O₃ ceramic substrates. For AlN substrates, it can reduce the sintering temperature from 1800-1900℃ to 1650-1800℃ when compounded with other sintering aids, while ensuring high thermal conductivity of 180-220W/(m·K). For high-purity Al₂O₃ substrates, appropriate doping of samarium oxide can reduce dielectric loss to below 0.001, meeting the demand for low-loss transmission of 5G high-frequency signals. It also shows broad application potential in special ceramic substrates such as solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrolyte substrates and low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrates.The application effect of samarium oxide in ceramic substrates mainly depends on three key technical factors: purity control, precise doping ratio, and reasonable compounding system. Globally, the production capacity of samarium oxide is mainly concentrated in China. Driven by the rapid development of high-end industries, the demand for high-purity samarium oxide in the ceramic substrate market is growing continuously, but there are still structural contradictions such as insufficient production capacity of high-purity products and inadequate collaborative innovation in the industrial chain.

Scintillators are critical for converting high-energy radiation into detectable visible light, serving key fields like medical imaging, security inspections and nuclear physics research. Gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃) and cerium oxide (CeO₂), as core rare earth oxides for scintillation crystal growth, possess unique properties that underpin scintillator performance: gadolinium oxide enables efficient high-energy radiation absorption, while cerium oxide acts as a high-efficiency luminescent activator with short decay time. This paper briefly introduces their application forms, the key role of process regulation (e.g., Czochralski method, atmosphere control) in crystal growth, and their wide applications from daily life to cutting-edge scientific research. It also outlines the future optimization direction of the two materials, emphasizing their important value in promoting the progress of detection technology and supporting high-end technical scenarios.

This paper focuses on the application of rare earth oxides in Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCC). As the core raw material of MLCC, ceramic powder accounts for 20% to 45% of the total cost, and high-capacity MLCC has stricter requirements for ceramic powder. Although rare earth oxides account for less than 1% of MLCC raw materials, they are indispensable doping components for high-end MLCC, which can regulate the crystal structure of barium titanate (the main raw material of MLCC), form a core-shell structure, reduce oxygen mobility, and thus improve the dielectric temperature stability, voltage resistance and overall reliability of MLCC. The ionic radius of rare earth elements (such as Y₂O₃, Dy₂O₃, Ho₂O₃) has a significant impact on the Curie peak position and internal stress of barium titanate-based ceramics. With the development of MLCC towards miniaturization, high capacity and nanometer level, rare earth oxides are required to have nanoscale particle size and good powder dispersibility.

On January 6, China's Ministry of Commerce announced a total ban on exporting all dual-use items to Japan for military users, military purposes and any end uses that boost Japan's military capabilities. The ban, a response to Japan's provocative remarks on the Taiwan question and its expanding military ambitions, covers key materials crucial to Japan's defense industry, which is highly dependent on Chinese supply chains. With no short-term alternatives available, the measure deals a heavy blow to Japan's military sector, while safeguarding normal civilian trade. It sends a firm signal that China will defend its core interests and oppose Japan's militaristic tendencies to maintain regional stability.