China bans exports of key materials to U.S. in retaliatory move

Dec. 3 (UPI) -- China on Tuesday banned exports of key chipmaking materials in a retaliatory move against the United States for its own curbs on Chinese tech applications on Tuesday.

China's Ministry of Commerce said that the country will no longer ship gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States. The ministry said it would also limit sales of graphite as well.

"In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and regulations, in order to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, it is decided to strengthen the export controls of relevant dual-use items to the United States," the ministry said in a translated statement.

In a separate statement, a ministry spokesperson blamed the United States for starting the standoff for political reasons.

"The U.S. has generalized the concept of national security, and politicized and weaponized economic, trade, and tech issues," a ministry spokesperson said, according to Bloomberg. "It has abused export control measures and unreasonably restricted certain products' export to China."

The Biden administration this week announced new rules prohibiting the export of semiconductor technology to China as a way to limit Beijing's ability to build advanced weaponry and artificial intelligence systems.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security prevented China from receiving two dozen types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and three related software tools.