The Chinese government said Friday it will impose export controls in December on some types of graphite, a material used to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, among other items, to protect its "national security and interests."
The announcement, based on a law prohibiting the shipment of advanced technologies and products that could be diverted to military use, followed the United States' move earlier this week to tighten controls on cutting-edge semiconductor exports to China.
China is the world's largest producer and exporter of graphite.
The Commerce Ministry said the measure effective from Dec. 1 does not target any specific country or region and exports that comply with relevant regulations will be permitted.
On Aug. 1, Beijing introduced export restrictions on items related to two rare earth metals used for chip production, namely gallium and germanium, citing the need to safeguard national security.
China holds a large share of the two metals available on the global market.
