China’s exports of strategic minerals to the United States and Japan diverged in July, with US-bound shipments showing signs of improvement while supplies of key materials to Japan tumbled.US-bound shipments of rare earth permanent magnets rose 4.6 per cent year on year and 32.6 per cent month on month in July, while exports of other rare earth oxides jumped 56.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data.Some smaller categories surged from low bases, including industrial synthetic diamonds, whose shipments increased by nearly 808 per cent, according to data released on Thursday.By contrast, rare earth magnet exports to Japan fell by 52.2 per cent year on year, while shipments of natural flake graphite plunged 62 per cent.In addition, China’s exports of tungsten carbide to Japan – a rare-metal compound found in dual-use products and cemented carbide cutting tools – have remained at zero for six consecutive months since February.Beijing has eased some restrictions on critical material exports to the US, accelerating the approval of rare earth shipments to the US following trade negotiations and suspending US-specific curbs on several materials in November.