Ban on Export to the U.S. of Dual-Use Items for a Month… Chinese Ministry of Commerce “Collecting Opinions Until the 1st of Next Month”
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Bong-seok – China is pushing to control the export of technology related to the manufacturing of battery components and the processing of rare metals.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on the 2nd that it will gather public opinions until the 1st of next month regarding the revised list of technologies subject to export bans or restrictions.
The list includes the addition of technologies and processes for manufacturing battery cathode materials and extracting rare metals such as lithium and gallium.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency explained that this is part of the efforts to strengthen the management of technology imports and exports.
On the 3rd, Bloomberg News pointed out that China’s initiative to control technology exports comes just a month after the U.S. announced a ban on exports of Chinese civilian and military dual-use items.
On the 3rd of last month, China prohibited the U.S. export of dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials and placed stricter controls on graphite dual-use items.
This was announced just a day after the U.S. included specific high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products in its semiconductor export controls targeting China.
Experts analyze that if the technology export control is enforced, it could help China maintain a 70% share in the global processing market for lithium, which is essential for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries.
Adam Webb, head of the battery raw material sector at consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told Reuters that the technology export control proposal is a measure to maintain high market share and ensure the production of lithium chemical products for China’s domestic battery supply chain.
Webb added, “Depending on the level of export controls, it may pose difficulties for Western lithium producers trying to produce lithium chemicals using Chinese technology.”
However, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce did not specify when the technology export controls would be implemented.