Germany concerned over disruptions in critical raw material supplies from China

The German government has expressed growing concern over delays in the supply of critically important raw materials from China, including rare earth metals essential for weapons manufacturing.

According to the German newspaper Bild, these disruptions risk forcing several defence industry enterprises to halt operations.

China, which controls over 90% of the global rare earth elements market, has recently tightened its export regulations. Companies now must obtain licenses and disclose information on the end use of these materials. Business lawyer Amir-Said Gassabeh warned that small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany have reserves lasting only "a few weeks."

The German Ministry of Economics described the situation as “very serious” and urged affected companies to seek support from the European Commission to apply diplomatic pressure on Beijing.

The ministry also highlighted the urgent need to diversify supply sources, noting that alternative production capacities outside China remain extremely limited.

By Khagan Isayev