World peace. That’s why China had to institute new, sweeping controls on exports of rare earths and critical minerals.

CCP officials are possessed of an unrivaled capacity to say ridiculous things with a straight face. On Sunday, Beijing’s Commerce ministry published responses to a handful of reporters’ questions about the restrictions at the center of renewed tensions between the world’s two superpowers.

There’s obviously no independent media in China. To the extent reporters are involved in the process of expounding on new rules and regulations, their role is to pose the “Qs” from FAQ lists written by the government. So, it’s not clear the “reporters” mentioned in Sunday’s MofCom statement are actually real, but we can pretend.

In response to a reporter inquiry about China’s “considerations” in announcing the new curbs, the Party cited a “turbulent” world. “Military conflicts,” Beijing said, are “occurring from time to time.” China being both “aware of the important military applications of medium and heavy rare earth items” and committed to being “a responsible major country,” implemented the export controls “to better safeguard world peace.”

That’s pretty rich, ain’t it? This is a country which spent the last three and half years back-channeling dual-use technology to Moscow to help keep The Kremlin’s creaky war machine running citing “world peace” for export controls on critical minerals. In addition to being insulting to Kyiv, Beijing’s peacekeeping excuse is just plain silly. Everyone knows these curbs are designed to remind the West that China can disrupt the supply chain for advanced AI chip manufacturing, and while AI obviously has military applications, that’s not what these curbs are about. And exactly no one thinks otherwise.

You’re reminded that this time last month, the CPP was sending out RSVPs for an extravagant military parade which, in addition to staples like tanks, fighter jets and helicopters, also featured new tech like laser weapons, hypersonic missiles, underwater drones and, for good measure, robotic dogs. Xi Jinping’s guests of honor at the spectacle were noted peacekeepers Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un who, like Donald Trump, were snubbed by the Nobel Committee last week.

In the same MofCom statement, the Party went out of its way to insist that in fact, obtaining export (and, in the case of foreign companies which produce products containing Chinese rare earths, re-export) licenses won’t be the Kafka nightmare everyone fears. “As long as the export application is for civilian purposes and complies with regulations, it will be approved,” the government said. “Relevant companies need not worry.”

Trust me: “Relevant companies” do need worry. Really they do. We’re talking about a completely opaque regulatory regime in a country with no rule of law. Even SOEs have a hard time navigating during periods when the Party’s engaged in a regulatory crackdown. Big Chinese tech became uninvestable in 2021 precisely because market participants had no confidence in management’s ability to understand and comply with a constantly shifting regulatory regime.

Beijing went on to suggest the Party’s currently working on “various facilitation measures, such as general licenses and exemptions” aimed at “promoting compliant trade” in a frictionless manner. “I want to emphasize that China’s export controls do not constitute export bans,” an official said Sunday.

On Saturday, I noted that China designed the new rare earth curbs to look like US export controls on advanced chips. The restrictions, I wrote, were Beijing saying, “We can play this game too.” MofCom confirmed as much on Sunday.

“The US has generalized national security, abused export controls, adopted discriminatory practices against China and implemented unilateral long-arm jurisdiction measures on a wide range of products, including semiconductor equipment and chips,” the ministry complained, in the course of suggesting Trump’s actions since the last round of trade talks in Spain amount to broken promises. “In just 20 days, the US has continuously introduced a series of new restrictive measures against China,” Beijing said.

As for Trump’s 100% tariff threats, Beijing chafed, calling Trump’s TruthSocial tirades “typical examples of double standards.” If you’re wondering whether China’s prepared to dial its own tariffs on US goods back up to absurd levels in response to Trump’s threatened triple-digit levies, the answer’s yes.

“Frequently threatening high tariffs is not the right approach to engaging with China,” Sunday’s statement warned. “We do not want a tariff war, but we are not afraid of one [and] if the US insists on its own way, China will resolutely take corresponding measures.”