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China ⁠announced on Friday (July 10, 2026) a temporary export ban on helium, effective ‌immediately, as the resumption of military conflict in West Asia threatens to trigger ‌new shortages of the gas ⁠critical for chip manufacturing.

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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. 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.