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Chinese rare earths piled up at a port in Shanghai, though these materials are not yet allowed for export to Japan. / Beijing Daily

According to Beijing sources well-versed in China–Japan relations on the 21st, citing data from the General Administration of Customs of China, China sold 6,000 kilograms of gallium to Japan last month. This transaction marks the first of its kind since China halted gallium and germanium exports to Japan early this year.

Gallium and germanium are widely recognized as critical materials utilized in semiconductors, fiber optics, electric vehicle fast chargers, and renewable energy. They are also employed in military applications, including infrared optical devices and semiconductors for missile guidance systems.

The sources analyze that China has resumed exports strictly for civilian demand for the time being. This implies that exports for military use are observed to remain suspended.

On November 6 last year, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding intervention in a Taiwan contingency, China's Ministry of Commerce began controlling the export of dual-use items—materials with both civilian and military applications—to Japan from the beginning of this year as part of a retaliatory measure.

China, however, maintains its tight grip on the supply of other major strategic minerals excluding gallium. Consequently, according to the sources, China's exports of rare earths and permanent magnets to Japan last month stood at a mere 123 tons, marking a decline of approximately 35% compared to April this year. Furthermore, germanium, certain tungsten items, and rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium were not exported to Japan at all.

Nevertheless, the sources estimated that the current export restrictions do not reach the severity of 2010, when China virtually halted all rare earth exports to Japan due to the Diaoyu Islands (Japanese name Senkaku Islands) dispute.

                                                                                                          Hong Soon-do