China declared a temporary ban on helium exports Friday, taking effect immediately, as renewed military fighting in the Middle East raises fears of fresh shortages of the gas that plays a vital role in computer chip production.
Conflict earlier this year between the U.S. and Israel against Iran triggered helium shortages that disrupted companies around the world, including those in China, where the artificial intelligence sector increasingly depends on domestically produced chips to train and operate AI systems. Helium plays a key role in managing heat during the semiconductor manufacturing process.
The helium export restriction is the latest move by Beijing to protect its own supplies of critical materials by limiting what leaves the country. China has previously taken similar steps with fuel, fertilizers, and sulfuric acid.
China is also working to expand its domestic chip-making capacity and reduce its reliance on advanced Nvidia semiconductors, which are subject to U.S. export controls.
While China has been working to grow its own helium production, it still relies heavily on imports from abroad. Analysts estimate that China sources roughly 85% or more of its helium needs from other countries. Qatar supplies a large portion of global helium output and has provided more than half of China’s imports in recent years.
The export ban could put additional pressure on global helium availability. Chinese companies have increasingly served as middlemen, buying Russian helium and reselling portions of it to markets overseas, including in Europe.
Helium is drawn from natural gas fields that contain unusually high concentrations of the gas and cannot be quickly produced through other industrial methods. In chip manufacturing, it is used in a range of processes including wafer cooling, plasma etching, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, lithography support, and leak detection.
