China said on October 20 that it would require export licenses for some graphite products to protect national security. According to reutersThis is being considered as a new attempt by Beijing to control the supply of important minerals.
China is currently the world’s leading graphite producer and exporter. The country refines more than 90% of the world’s graphite into the material used in most electric vehicle (EV) battery anodes. In addition, graphite is often used in the semiconductor, aerospace, chemical, and steel industries.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said the new rules “are beneficial to ensuring the safety and stability of the global supply chain and industrial chain, and are beneficial to safeguarding national security and good interests.”
The ministry also said the new rules “do not target any specific country”. According to Chinese customs data, the United States is on the list of top graphite importers from China.
An employee of a company working in the graphite industry in Hegang city, Heilongjiang province – China Photo: Xinhua News Agency
A few days ago, the US Commerce Department imposed additional restrictions on the types of semiconductors that US companies can sell to Chinese businesses.
According to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the above move is aimed at further tightening export control measures issued in October 2022. Specifically, the new rules require licenses to export advanced chips to more than 40 countries that “can transfer this technology to China”.
China’s Commerce Ministry immediately spoke out against the latest restrictive measures, and called for export controls to be lifted as soon as possible. Sheet South China Morning Post On October 22, citing multiple experts, the latest move shows Washington is focusing on Beijing’s advanced chip manufacturing capabilities.
According to him, Huawei Technologies’ launch of a phone model supporting 5G networks at the time of Ms. Raimondo’s visit to China in late August was a strong blow to the aforementioned US restrictive measures.
