The Download: China’s mineral ban, and three technologies to watch

This week, China banned exports of several critical minerals to the US, marking the latest move in an escalating series of tit-for-tat trade restrictions between the world’s two largest economies.

In explicitly cutting off, rather than merely restricting, materials of strategic importance to the semiconductor, defense, and electric vehicle sectors, China has clearly crossed a new line in the long-simmering trade war.

But at the same time, it selected minerals that won’t cripple any industries—which leaves China plenty of ammunition to inflict greater economic pain in response to any further trade restrictions that the incoming Trump administration may impose. Read more about what drove China’s decision, how it affects climate tech and what’s likely to happen next. 

—James Temple

This story is part of our MIT Technology Review Explains series. Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more from the series here.

3 things that didn’t make the 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025 list

Next month, MIT Technology Review will unveil the 2025 list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. Every year, our newsroom looks across the fields we cover for technologies that are having a true breakthrough moment. This annual package highlights the technologies that we think matter most right now.

In the meantime, here are three technologies that we considered including on the 2025 list but ultimately decided to leave off. And although these nominees didn’t make the cut this year, they’re still worth keeping an eye on. Read the full story.