China to restrict silver exports, echoing rare earth model

BEIJING — China is set to tighten controls on money exports starting Thursday, widening restrictions on the once-ordinary metal critical to U.S. industry and defense supply chains.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized the move over the weekend on his social media platform X, in response to an article about the upcoming restrictions.

“This is not good. Money is necessary in many industrial processes,” Musk wrote.

But the rules are not new. China’s Commerce Ministry first announced new measures in October to strengthen monitoring of rare metals, the same day as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in South Korea. At the time, Beijing agreed to a one-year pause on some rare earth export controls while the United States lowered tariffs.

Earlier this month, China released a list of 44 companies allowed to export silver under the new measures in 2026 and 2027. The new 2026 rules also restrict exports of tungsten and antimony, materials dominated by China’s supply chain and widely used in defense and advanced technology.

Although China has not explicitly announced a blanket ban on silver exports, the state-run Securities Times newspaper on Tuesday cited an anonymous industry tipster who said the new policy formally elevates the metal from a regular commodity to a strategic material, placing its export controls on the same regulatory footing as rare earths.

The EU Chamber of Commerce in China found in a flash survey of its members in November that a majority of respondents have been or expect to be affected by these Chinese export controls.

The United States added silver to its national list of critical minerals in November, citing its use in electrical circuits, batteries, solar cells and antibacterial medical instruments. A separate U.S. analysis indicates that China was one of the world’s largest producers of silver in 2024 and was also home to one of the largest reserves.

China exported more than 4,600 tonnes of silver in the first 11 months of the year, far more than the approximately 220 tonnes imported during that period, according to Wind Information, citing official figures.

The restrictions on silver come just as interest in the metal has increased in recent weeks.

Two Chinese companies contacted Canadian company Kuya Silver on Friday, offering to buy physical silver at about $8 more than the market price at the time, CEO David Stein confirmed to CNBC. He said one company was a manufacturer and the other was a large trading company.

An Indian buyer approached Kuya on Monday with an offer $10 above the market price, he added.

Conservative digital media outlet The Free Press published an article Tuesday by Tyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University, who said the surge in silver and gold prices reflected investors’ abandonment of the U.S. dollar.

He called the price surge “a resounding warning to the [U.S.] economy.”

THE US Dollar Index fell almost 9.5% in 2025, its worst performance since 2017.

In contrast, the price of silver has more than doubled, on track for its best year since 1979, when the metal surged nearly 470%. Silver prices retreated on Wednesday after hitting a record high above $80 an ounce earlier this week, with spot prices last trading around $73.

Gold has gained more than 60% so far this year and is also on track for its best year since 1979.

BitcoinGold, sometimes touted as an alternative to gold as a store of value, was trading at nearly $88,000 as of Wednesday morning Beijing time, down more than 5% for the year.

—CNBC’s Chris Hayes contributed to this report.