Logo 20 Oct 2023

Phiting back

That was quick! Just days after Washington further tightened the screws on chip exports to China, Beijing flexed its own export-control muscles. 

On Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) slapped controls on high-grade graphite, effective December 1, 2023.  

  • This move broadens MofCom’s existing controls on graphite materials to include high-purity and spherical graphite. 

The official explanation? Preventing nuclear proliferation. 

Graphite does play a role in creating nukes, but: It is also used in a variety of important industrial applications, such as in batteries and semiconductor equipment. 

ICYDK: China dominates global graphite production, accounting for roughly 65% of world production (USGS)

Get smart: Tightening access to critical minerals has become Beijing’s go-to strategy for retaliating against chip controls. 

  • When Japan and the Netherlands rolled out chip export controls on China a few months ago, MofCom responded with export controls on gallium and germanium
  • That makes us think Beijing already has a playbook of mineral controls for use whenever the US or its allies move against China. 

The big question: What’s the next critical mineral control poised for deployment?

sources

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That was quick! Just days after Washington further tightened the screws on chip exports to China, Beijing flexed its own export-control muscles. 
On Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) slapped controls on high-grade graphite, effective December 1, 2023.  

This move broadens...