The Chinese regime has placed new export restrictions on antimony, a crucial metal for batteries and nuclear weapons, further tightening its hold on the supply chains of strategic minerals in which it dominates global production.
The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Aug. 15 that antimony and its chemical compounds will be subjected to export controls starting Sept. 15. Traders who seek to export the mineral in various forms will now have to obtain a license from the ministry and provide detailed information about the overseas buyers and their export plans.
In a separate statement, a ministry spokesman said the restrictions are meant to “safeguard national security” and fulfill international obligations related to “non-proliferation.”
The latest measures also target technology and equipment used for smelting and separating materials, as well as other products associated with what the ministry referred to as super-hard materials.
China is the dominant global producer of antimony, which has applications for electric vehicles and military weapons makers. While China’s share of global antimony production has decreased in recent years, it still accounted for almost half of the world’s production in 2023, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The U.S. Department of the Interior has designated antimony a critical mineral for economic and national security. According to the USGS, there is currently no domestic mining of the mineral in the United States, and China serves as the primary source of imports.
A 2021 study published by the U.S. International Trade Commission found that antimony is most commonly used in the United States for fireproofing uniforms and lead-acid storage batteries.
The metal also plays a key role in the production of a wide range of military equipment, including nuclear weapons and infrared sensors.
Because of a limited supply and increasing demand, the price of antimony has soared to record levels, nearly doubling since the beginning of the year to top $22,000 per metric ton. The new restrictions announced by Beijing are expected to further drive up the minor metal’s price.
Amid tensions with the West, the regime has already tightened its controls over the supply chains of other critical minerals.
From August 2023, gallium and germanium, two rare metals that are critical to the manufacturing of semiconductors, are subject to export restrictions, China’s commerce ministry announced in July 2023, citing the need to protect national security.
China holds a dominant position in mining the two rare minerals. It supplied around 80 percent of the world’s production of gallium and 60 percent of germanium, according to Critical Raw Materials Alliance.
The risk of relying on communist China for those critical minerals was brought into stark relief in October of 2023, when the regime announced export controls on graphite, which is essential to power electric vehicles.
A loader shifts soil containing rare earth minerals at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, on Sept. 5, 2010. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
China controls over 65 percent of the world’s supply of graphite. Since December 2023, Chinese exporters have been required to obtain licenses before they can ship natural and artificial graphite and related products. The order to restrict graphite exports came just three days after Washington unveiled new curbs on semiconductor exports to Beijing.
U.S. lawmakers have called the restrictions the latest evidence of the Chinese Communist Party’s weaponization of supply chain chokepoints.
In November, the regime announced further restrictions on rare earths, a group of 17 elements used in applications from electric cars to military equipment and of which China is a monopoly supplier.
Dorothy Li is a reporter for The Epoch Times, covering China's politics, international relationships, security, and society. Contact Dorothy at [email protected].
