China has imposed export curbs on two metals used in computer chips and solar cells, expanding a squabble with Washington over high-tech trade ahead of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to Beijing this week.
The controls on gallium and germanium are intended to “safeguard national security,” the Commerce Ministry said yesterday (Macau time).
It said exports will require official permission once the rules take effect Aug. 1 but did not say what restrictions might be applied.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is frustrated by U.S. curbs on access to advanced processor chips and other technology on security grounds. But Beijing has been slow to retaliate, possibly to avoid disrupting China’s fledgling developers of chips, artificial intelligence and other technology.
Yellen is due to arrive Thursday as part of efforts by the Biden administration to revive relations that have plunged to their lowest level in decades.
The United States gets about half its supply of both metals directly from China, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
