The Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement on the 20th, officially including three highly sensitive graphite items previously subject to temporary control into the export control list of dual-use items. A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce stated on the 20th that China’s normal adjustment of export controls does not target any specific country or region, and exports that comply with relevant regulations will be permitted.
According to the announcement, in order to safeguard national security and interests, with the approval of the State Council, it was decided to optimize and adjust the scope of items listed in the Announcement No. 50 of 2006 ("Decision to Implement Temporary Export Control Measures on Graphite Related Products") issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the State Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and the General Administration of Customs. Among them, high-purity, high-strength, high-density artificial graphite materials and their products, natural flake graphite and their products are not allowed to be exported without permission; at the same time, the temporary control on five low-sensitive graphite items, including furnace carbon electrodes, which are mainly used in basic industries of the national economy such as steel, metallurgy, and chemicals, is cancelled. The above policy will be officially implemented from December 1, 2023. When answering reporters' questions on relevant control policies, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said that the Chinese government's decision to optimize and adjust the temporary control measures for graphite items reflects the control concept of coordinated development and safety, and is conducive to better fulfilling international obligations such as non-proliferation, conducive to ensuring the safety and stability of the global supply chain industry chain, and conducive to better safeguarding national security and interests.
As for China's normal actions to maintain the stability of the industrial supply chain and national security, foreign media have habitually exaggerated the "China threat" when reporting on it, and linked it to the economic and trade frictions between Europe, the United States and China. Reuters said that as China adjusts its graphite export control measures, some foreign governments are increasing pressure on Chinese companies. The European Union is considering imposing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, and the U.S. government earlier this week expanded restrictions on Chinese companies' access to advanced chips. China has implemented export controls on gallium and germanium used in chip manufacturing since August 1. There are "similarities" in adjusting graphite export controls this time. Bloomberg of the United States stated that graphite is an important component in the production of electric vehicle batteries, and China is an important producer of graphite. "This will definitely have a serious impact on the electric vehicle and battery industry."
Sun Qing, honorary president of the China Carbon Industry Association, told a reporter from the Global Times on the 20th that China’s adjustment of export control measures for graphite items is entirely due to industry development and has no geopolitical considerations. The temporary export control measures in 2006 included graphite products. "One view at the time was that graphite could become nuclear graphite after deep processing. But now we realize that graphite used for nuclear purposes is of extremely high quality, and not all graphite can meet this standard. So. With this adjustment to the previous export controls, necessary graphite items, such as ‘three-high’ graphite for military purposes, have been removed from the control list. This adjustment is conducive to the development of the industry and the development of the national economy.”