China recently announced new export restrictions on germanium and gallium — two fundamental elements for chip manufacturing. As of Tuesday, Chinese companies interested in doing business abroad.
In context: Germanium and gallium are instrumental in manufacturing power chips, radio frequency amplifiers, LEDs, and many other silicon-based components. They aren’t scarce metals, but China has been providing the world with cheap germanium and gallium for decades. However, new policy changes could affect global supplies.
China recently announced new export restrictions on germanium and gallium — two fundamental elements for chip manufacturing. As of Tuesday, Chinese companies interested in doing business abroad need to secure a proper export license from Beijing authorities. «Pure» germanium and gallium export, as well as export of any product which includes the two elements, are affected by the new restrictions. The Ministry of Commerce said that as long as exporting companies will comply with national security protocols and other local regulations, export operations will continue as usual.
