BEIJING – China’s exports of two vital minerals, antimony and germanium, which are crucial for weapons, telecommunications, and solar cells, have sharply declined over the past three months. This drop coincides with an intensified crackdown on smuggling and transshipment operations, involving China’s top spy agency.
According to customs data released on Sunday, June exports of antimony and germanium plummeted by 88% and 95%, respectively, compared to January figures. China holds a dominant position in the global supply chain for both elements, being the largest miner or refiner, much like with rare earths.
Both antimony and germanium were added to China’s export control list in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In December, exports to the U.S. were outright banned as a retaliatory measure against chip restrictions. Rare earths followed suit, being added to the same control list in April, leading to a significant collapse in export volumes that forced some carmakers in Europe and the U.S. to halt certain production lines.
While rare earth export volumes saw a sharp rebound last month following a deal between Washington and Beijing, exports of germanium and antimony have fallen to some of their lowest recorded levels.
This steep decline in export volumes aligns with a widely publicized crackdown on evasion of critical mineral export controls. China’s spy agency announced last week that it had uncovered attempts to bypass these controls through transshipment, a method where cargo is routed through a third country before reaching its destination. The week prior, Reuters reported unusually large quantities of antimony being exported to the United States from Thailand and Mexico, appearing to be transshipment orchestrated by at least one Chinese company.
China’s antimony exports to Thailand have fallen by 90% after reaching a record high in April, and there have been no exports to Mexico since April.
Spot market prices for high-purity germanium have more than doubled since China imposed export restrictions in July 2023, while antimony prices have nearly quadrupled since May of last year.