China has banned certain metal exports in retaliation to the US chip restrictions

As of today, Chinese gallium, germanium and antimony are no longer being exported to the US. Germanium and gallium exports had already ceased in October, and antimony exports have dropped by 97 percent since September. This official declaration comes a day after the US announced it would further tighten technological exports to China, particularly referring to computer chips.

This ban includes materials that have “potential military applications,” as per Reuters.

The Chinese export ban primarily concerns what the government calls “dual-use items,” which are objects both the military and civilians can use. Due to this ban, graphite exports to the US from China must also undergo stricter reviews. However, they aren’t outright banned from exporting yet.

Gallium and germanium are used to make semiconductors, and the latter can also be found in fiber optic cables and solar cells. As for antimony, you may find it in shotgun shells, nuclear weapons, night vision goggles and some batteries.

These export bans are significant because China has been outputting 48 percent of globally mined antimony, 59.2 percent of refined germanium and 98.8 percent of refined gallium production. The US must now scramble to locate new deposits containing these materials, as the ban has already affected prices. Antimony trioxide has been 228 percent more expensive since the beginning of this year.

China has been finding ways to be technologically independent since the US banned exports to the Central Nation. The result of such efforts include HarmonyOS, Huawei’s chips being used in AI development and the Beidou Navigation Satellite System.

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