The Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday that China had tightened export control on dual-use items to the US, including bans on products related to gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard materials.
In January-September, US purchases of germanium from China amounted to $4.64 million, which is almost three times less than in the same period a year earlier. The US’ total imports of germanium in the period stood at $24.34 million. Thus, China’s share in the US imports amounted to 19.1%.
The US purchased Chinese antimony for $3.74 million, or 7.7% of the total import volume of $48.9 million. Compared with last year, the volume of purchases of this product from China decreased by 33.7%.
The US imported only $3.31 million worth of gallium this year, of which China accounted for almost 9%, or $297,000, down from $449,600 last year.
Gallium and germanium are widely used in the production of high-tech products. Germanium is used in the creation of solar panels, wireless communication devices and optical systems, such as military night vision goggles.