China proposes fresh export curbs on EV technology

Hong Kong CNN —

Beijing is planning to curb the export of technology used to extract minerals critical for the growth of the global electric vehicle (EV) industry, as a tech rivalry with Washington escalates ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump later this month.

China also wants to add battery cathode technology to its list of controlled exports, according to a notice published Thursday by the Commerce Ministry soliciting public comment, on top of the proposed restrictions on technology related to producing lithium and gallium.

If approved, the new additions would form a future round of export controls imposed by China on a slew of critical materials and the technology needed to produce them, which are crucial to manufacturing semiconductors and EV batteries.

Asked about the proposal during a regular press conference on Friday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said: “What we can tell you as a principle is that China implements fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory export control measures.”

The plan was announced a month after China banned outright the sale of a number of materials crucial for the production of semiconductors and other tech — including gallium, germanium, antimony and other “super hard” materials — to the US. That was in response to fresh export controls on US-made semiconductors imposed by the outgoing Joe Biden administration.

The latest proposal could be a “resource weaponization” strategy to secure a bargaining chip ahead of Trump’s second term, Liz Lee, an associate director at Counterpoint Research, told CNN.

If implemented, a ban or restriction “could significantly strengthen (China’s) dominance in the battery ecosystem, especially to boost its