BEIJING — China’s exports of two critical minerals used in weapons, telecommunications and solar cells have plunged over the past three months amid a crackdown on smuggling and transshipment that has involved China’s top spy agency.
Exports of antimony and germanium in June were down 88 percent and 95 percent, respec-tively, versus January, according to customs data published on Sunday. Much as with rare earths, China is by far the largest miner and or refiner for both elements.
Both were added to an export control list in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Exports to the US were then banned in December as part of retaliation for chip restrictions.
Rare earths were added to the same control list in April, precipitating a sharp collapse in export volumes that forced some carmakers in Europe and the US to pause some produc-tion lines.
But where rare earth export volumes rebounded sharply last month thanks to a deal struck between Washington and Beijing, exports of germanium and antimony fell to some of the lowest levels on record.
Chart shows how China’s exports of germanium and gallium have fallen sharply this year
The collapse in export volumes coincides with well-publicised crackdown on critical miner-al export control evasion. China’s spy agency said last week it had detected attempts to by-pass controls via transshipment, where cargoes move through a third country before going on to their final destination.
The week before Reuters reported that unusually large quantities of antimony were being exported to the United States from Thailand and Mexico in what appeared to be transship-ment conducted by at least one Chinese company.
China’s exports of antimony to Thailand have collapsed by 90 percent after hitting a record in April. There have been no exports to Mexico since April.
