China urges US to follow international law on reported deep-sea metals stockpile plan

Chinese and US flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China Apr 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

No country should bypass international laws to authorise resource exploration in the seabed, China's foreign ministry said on Monday, following a report of US plans to stockpile deep-sea metals to counter China's dominance in the sector.

The Trump administration is drafting an executive order to enable stockpiling of deep-sea metals found on the Pacific Ocean seabed to counter China's dominance of battery minerals and rare earth supply chains, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The stockpile would "create large quantities ready and available on US territory to be used in the future," in case of a conflict with China that might constrain imports of metals and rare earths, the report said.

China has placed some rare earth elements under export restrictions in retaliation to US President Donald Trump's steep tariffs on Chinese goods, potentially cutting the US off from critical minerals vital to everything from smartphones to electric car batteries.

Following the report, the Chinese foreign ministry said that under international law, the seabed and its resources "are the common heritage of mankind."

"Exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the international seabed area must be conducted in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and within the framework of the International Seabed Authority," the ministry said in a statement.

China produces around 90% of the world's refined rare earths, a group of 17 elements used across the defense, electric vehicle, clean energy and electronics industries. The US imports much of its rare earths, which come largely from China.