Recently, the Announcement on Implementing Export Control on Gallium and Germanium Related Items issued by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs has attracted attention from all sectors. The announcement shows that in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Export Control Law of the China, the Foreign Trade Law of the China and the Customs Law of the China, in order to safeguard national security and interests, the State Council has approved the decision to implement export control on gallium and germanium related items from August 1, 2023. What are the effects of gallium and germanium related substances? Why does China strengthen export controls on these metals? Strategic minerals - Gallium and germanium, with typical dual use properties, are emerging strategic minerals that have a wide range of applications in high-tech industries. Gallium (Ga) is a necessary raw material for the production of gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, Gallium phosphide and copper indium gallium selenium due to its high conductivity, medium thermal conductivity and low liquid toxicity. Its downstream products mainly include semiconductor materials, semiconductor light-emitting devices, integrated circuits, transistors, radio frequency devices, functional synthesis materials, CIGS thin film solar cells, etc. Among them, gallium nitride (GaN) is one of the most representative third-generation semiconductor materials. Germanium (Ge) is not simple either. In the industrial field, germanium also has many special functions, and has important applications in semiconductor, aerospace, nuclear physics detection, Fiber-optic communication, infrared optics, solar cells, chemical catalysts, biomedicine and other fields. Among them, silicon germanium (SiGe) is an important semiconductor strain material that can greatly improve the speed of transistors and is applied in high-speed chips. Experts say that from the downstream application fields of gallium and germanium, related items not only serve economic and social development, but also have extensive military applications. For example, gallium arsenide can be used in fields such as fiber optic communication, military radar, electronic warfare systems, etc; Germanium can be used to manufacture portable infrared imaging systems for individual soldiers, as well as infrared thermal imagers for weapon platforms such as tanks, ships, aircraft, and missiles. Therefore, gallium and germanium have typical dual-use properties. Where are these precious minerals distributed? What is the reserve situation in China? Liu Zhiyong, associate professor of the School of Metallurgy and Environment of Central South University, told our reporter that gallium, germanium and other metals have low average content in the crust and are associated with other minerals in a rare and dispersed state. They can only be comprehensively recovered and comprehensively utilized in the beneficiation and metallurgy when mining the main metal deposit. Therefore, these metals are also referred to as "dispersed metals". From a global perspective, China is relatively rich in rare metal minerals. "In China, gallium and germanium mineral resources are mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Jilin and other places. In the north, germanium is mainly associated with germanium bearing lignite, gallium is mainly associated with Bauxite, and in the south, gallium is mainly scattered in lead-zinc ores. Taking the high germanium lignite in Inner Mongolia as an example, one ton of coal only contains about 10 grams of germanium on average." Liu Zhiyong said that it is difficult to mine and refine these rare metals, In addition, the high-tech field has a wide range of uses, which can be said to be very precious. Therefore, in recent years, the proportion of secondary recovery and extraction of metals such as gallium and germanium in China has been continuously increasing. Low abundance, difficult mining, and great use... Experts say that rare metals such as gallium and germanium are not only used as strategic reserves by China