Daisy Watts 
Nov 24, 2023
China has imposed an indefinite ban on exports of gallium and germanium, the two most important raw materials for chip production. The two minerals are among the most important of any in the world — and China’s the biggest producer of them both.
In August, China did not export any of them, having announced tighter controls on foreign sales because of national security reasons.
These two minerals are necessary to produce electronics such as computer chips and semiconductors of electrical vehicles. The Critical Raw Materials Alliance calculates that China produces around 80% of the world’s available supply of gallium, as well as approximately 60% of the global germanium stock.
China's retaliation against US export controls
China did not export any of these elements from August, according to the country’s customs figures released on Wednesday. In July, China shipped out of the country 5.15 metric tons of forged Gallium items and 8.1 metric tons of forged Germanium goods.
Some approvals were given by the Chinese Commerce Ministry for exports of these two items via applications made, stated a spokesman of the Chinese Commerce Ministry on this issue but did not say the specifics.
Export restrictions are a retaliatory measure in China’s response to US export control over advanced chip manufacturing technology that has taken the tech feud to new highs.
