China Restricts Exports of Germanium, Quartz, and Permanent Magnet Materials to Taiwan
Nashnova编辑部
China is delaying or restricting exports of germanium, quartz, and NdFeB permanent magnets to Taiwan, creating supply-chain bottlenecks across multiple Taiwanese industries; this signals Beijing is extending its critical-materials leverage from the U.S. contest to direct pressure on Taiwan.
Which materials are restricted — and who is hit?
Three material classes are affected: germanium (key feedstock for infrared lenses and fiber optics), quartz (essential for semiconductor and optical components), and NdFeB permanent magnets (core to electric motors and robotics).
This means → the impact is not confined to one sector — optics, chip equipment, aerospace, and robotics are all under pressure simultaneously.
Per Nikkei Asia, the main mechanism is extended customs inspections; some Chinese suppliers have also been called in by authorities and questioned about customer identities and cargo destinations.
How badly are Taiwanese firms hurting?
One optics executive called it "an industry-wide problem" and said the delays have already cost the company orders.
A chip-equipment maker reported delivery timelines stretching by several months; the executive stated that "the chip industry's quality and precision demands for quartz are extreme — there is currently no alternative source outside China."
In plain terms = the problem is not higher prices — it is the inability to source material of equivalent quality at all. That is the real bottleneck.
Why did Beijing choose these materials?
There is precedent: in December 2024, China added quartz-based materials to its dual-use export-control list; earlier, it temporarily banned germanium and gallium exports to the U.S. in retaliation for American chip-export restrictions.
This reflects a deliberate strategy — Beijing is building a "materials arsenal," identifying inputs where China dominates supply and rivals cannot quickly substitute, then folding them into its leverage toolkit.
This means → the Taiwan restrictions are not an isolated event but the latest expansion of that toolkit — from the U.S. to Taiwan.
Can Taiwan help itself — and is three years enough?
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs is backing ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) in developing domestic rare-earth technology, targeting a test production line within three years.
Put simply = a "test line" is a long way from "volume production that replaces Chinese supply" — a test proves technical feasibility; scale and cost competitiveness are a separate challenge entirely.
That three-year window is both Taiwan's timeline for proving self-sufficiency and the period during which Beijing's leverage over these materials carries its maximum force.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.