China temporarily bans helium exports as US-Iran tensions flare again

BEIJING: China announced on Friday a temporary export ban ‌on ⁠helium, effective ⁠immediately,as resumption of military conflict in ​the Middle East threatens to trigger new shortages ​of the gas critical for chip manufacturing.

Earlier this year, the U.S.-Israeli ​war on Iran led ⁠to helium shortages, ‌disrupting companies globally, ​including ​in China, where the AI ⁠industry increasingly relies on domestic chips ​for training and running AI models. ​

Helium is essential for heat management in semiconductor production. The helium ban is the latest example of Beijing seeking to prevent ‌domestic shortages of critical materials by curbing exports.


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Previously, it ​imposed similar ​measures ⁠on fuel, fertilisers and sulphuric acid. China is also looking to boost domestic chip manufacturing capacity ​and reduce the industry's dependence on cutting-edge Nvidia semiconductors that fall under U.S. export controls.

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