China views its rare earths as a national security issue, not a trade one, and that’s why Beijing is unlikely to loosen controls any time soon, experts say.

Beijing has approved more export licenses for the critical minerals and magnets in recent days, but supplies remain scarce and factories in the West are running out.

China has approved temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top US automakers, Reuters reported on Friday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.