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What China gains from ban on rare mineral exports to US
Arthur Sullivan
12/04/2024December 4, 2024
China has banned rare mineral exports like gallium and germanium to the US, intensifying trade tensions. The move threatens US tech and defense industries reliant on these materials.
https://p.dw.com/p/4nkPk
Pieces of gallium
Gallium is particularly needed for high-end semiconductors, as well as for solar panels and radar equipmentImage: DERA/BGR
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On Tuesday, China's Commerce Ministry announced that it was banning the export of certain minerals and metals to the United States.
The products, such as gallium, germanium and antimony, are so-called dual-use items, which can be used in the production of semiconductors and also for a wide range of military and technological applications.
Why has China taken this step?
China's move is a direct response to export controls that the United States placed on Beijing on Monday. The US and Chinese actions are the latest exchanges in the countries' rivalry, with much of the recent focus being around trade, the production of military technology and the development of artificial intelligence.
"It's a hardening and a defensiveness on both the Chinese and the United States side, and it's not a new phenomenon for either country," Claire Reade, a senior counsel with Washington, DC, legal firm Arnold & Porter and an expert in US-China trade relations, told DW.
Reade said the perception had become widespread in China that the United States is trying to halt the country's legitimate development, whereas the US sees it as a national security issue to prevent China from gaining supremacy in certain areas.
The Commerce Ministry said its decision to strengthen export controls on dual-use items to the United States was "to safeguard national security."
The US continued its ongoing campaign against China's semiconductor sector by announcing its third list of restrictions in as many years.
Just over a month before it is set to leave office, the Biden administration launched export controls on 140 companies, including chip sector specialists such as Naura, Piotech, ACM Research and SiCarrier Technology.
An illustration showing the Chinese flag placed next to the elements of gallium and germanium on a periodic tableAn illustration showing the Chinese flag placed next to the elements of gallium and germanium on a periodic table
A Chinese ban on gallium and germanium exports to the United States is the latest development in the rivalry between the countriesImage: Florence Lo/REUTERS
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said: "They're the strongest controls ever enacted by the US to degrade the People's Republic of China's ability to make the most advanced chips that they're using in their military modernization."
China's response is not limited to the restriction on certain key metals and minerals. Four of the country's main industry associations — covering the semiconductor, i