2023-07-04 19:00:44
At a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Suqian (Jiangsu), eastern China, February 28, 2023. STR / AFP
While the United States wants to prevent China from accessing the most efficient semiconductors, Beijing responds by threatening to block the export of so-called “rare” earths used in the manufacture of these sophisticated electronic chips useful in defense, but also 5G telephony and solar panels.
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The Ministry of Commerce and the Chinese Customs Administration announced on Monday July 3 that exports of gallium and germanium would be subject to export visas, starting August 1, “to safeguard national security and interests”. A decision announced before the arrival in Beijing of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday, July 5. This first trip, which should last four days, comes after that of the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken. Expectations are low. Both sides simply hope to “stabilize” the bilateral relationship.
Since the beginning of the year and the crisis caused by the flight of Chinese spy balloons over the United States, the Americans have increased restrictions on the export of sophisticated semiconductors. The Chinese responded by banning, in February, all trade with the defense firms Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, guilty of selling weapons to Taiwan, then by prohibiting, in June, the purchase of American electronic chips from the giant Micron by certain groups. infrastructure, in the name of the country’s strategic security.
“It’s a warning, not a death blow”
The threat to rare earths – which are not so rare, but very polluting to produce, which explains why the United States has relocated their production – is a new retaliatory measure. On paper, the stakes may seem low, with Chinese exports of raw and refined germanium and gallium reaching $36 million (€33 million) and $54 million respectively, according to the Wall Street Journalbut these rare metals are used to manufacture electronic chips used in particular in defense, whose market represented approximately 4 billion dollars in 2022, and could reach 23 billion dollars in 2030, according to the WSJ.
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“It’s a warning, not a death blow,” underlines the American firm Eurasia, which observes that “Chinese exporters must obtain authorization [et que] there is no indication that exports will be systematically prohibited to certain countries or certain end users”. In 2018-2021, Americans imported 100% of their gallium, even though China’s share of gallium metal had fallen to 53%, according to the January report from the United States Institute of Geological Studies. .
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