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China has imposed export controls on graphite, a material used in electric-vehicle batteries, as Beijing hits back at US-led restrictions on technology sales to Chinese companies.
China, which dominates global supply chains for the mineral, will require special export permits for three grades of graphite, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs said on Friday.
The new export controls, which China said were introduced on “national security” grounds, are set to escalate geopolitical tension between Beijing and Washington over tech supply chains. They also underline China’s dominance of global supplies of dozens of critical minerals.
China is the leading producer of graphite, accounting for about 65 per cent of supplies in 2022, according to the US Geological Survey’s 2023 annual report on the mineral.
The country’s market share in some finished graphite products is closer to 100 per cent, according to the Institute for Energy Research, a Washington-based research group.
The move comes days after US president Joe Biden’s administration tightened controls on exports of cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips to China.
Beijing has criticised Washington for the controls. The Chinese commerce ministry on Wednesday said the “US constantly overstretches the concept of national security, abuses export control measures and turns to unilateral bullying acts, which China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly objects to”.
While Chinese officials are wary of retaliation that could damage China’s own companies, Beijing in recent months has started to leverage its dominance over a vast array of materials and resources in response.
In July Beijing put similar restrictions on gallium and germanium, metals used in a number of strategic industries including electric vehicles, microchips and some military weapons systems. The government also cited national security concerns.
Hong Kong-listed shares of China Graphite Group gained 14.3 per cent on Friday following the announcement.
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