On October 20, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs issued the “Announcement on Optimizing and Adjusting the Temporary Export Control Measures for Graphite Items.” According to relevant regulations, and with the approval of the State Council, in order to safeguard national security and interests, it has been decided to optimize and adjust the scope of items listed in Announcement No. 50 of 2006 issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Defense Science and Technology Industry Bureau, and the General Administration of Customs (“Decision on Implementing Temporary Export Control Measures for Certain Graphite-Related Products”), and to impose export controls on certain items.

Items meeting the following characteristics may not be exported without prior authorization: synthetic graphite materials and products characterized by high purity (purity > 99.9%), high strength (flexural strength > 30 MPa), and high density (density > 1.73 g/cm³) (refer to customs commodity codes: 3801100030, 3801909010, 6815190020). Natural flake graphite and its products (including spherical graphite, expanded graphite, etc.) (refer to customs commodity codes: 2504101000, 2504109100, 3801901000, 3801909010, 3824999940, 6815190020).

In addition to the items mentioned above, the temporary export controls on other items specified in Announcement No. 50 of 2006 issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Defense Science and Technology Industry Bureau, and the General Administration of Customs (“Decision on Implementing Temporary Export Control Measures for Certain Graphite-Related Products”) have been lifted.

The Ministry of Commerce of China, together with the General Administration of Customs, has issued an announcement on optimizing and adjusting the temporary export control measures for graphite items. Specifically, three highly sensitive graphite items—including spherical graphite—that were previously subject to temporary controls have now been formally added to the list of dual-use goods subject to export controls. At the same time, the temporary controls on five low-sensitivity graphite items—such as carbon electrodes for furnace use—which are primarily used in fundamental national economic industries like steel, metallurgy, and chemical engineering—have been lifted. The above-mentioned policies will take effect officially starting December 1, 2023. Previously, we had already notified the relevant countries and regions accordingly.

Imposing export controls on specific graphite items is a globally accepted practice. As the world’s largest producer and exporter of graphite, China has long been firmly committed to fulfilling its international obligations, including non-proliferation commitments. In accordance with the need to safeguard national security and interests, China has, in compliance with the law, imposed export controls on certain graphite items and introduced temporary controls on some other graphite items. Recently, in line with the provisions of the Export Control Law, the Chinese government conducted a comprehensive assessment of its temporary control measures on graphite items and made decisions to optimize and adjust these measures by both introducing new controls and lifting existing ones. This reflects a regulatory approach that balances development and security, helps China better fulfill its international obligations—including non-proliferation commitments—contributes to ensuring the security and stability of global supply and industrial chains, and further safeguards China’s national security and interests. The normal adjustments to China’s export controls are not targeted at any specific country or region; exports that comply with relevant regulations will continue to be permitted.

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