- Belgian pathologist and literary star gives 'voice to the dead'
- East Timor fights new battles 25 years after independence vote
- Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
- Reoxygenating oceans: startups lead the way in Baltic Sea
- King Charles III heads to Australia and Commonwealth meeting
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
China says critical metals curbs 'not targeting' any country
China's commerce ministry on Thursday said recent curbs on essential chip-making metals were not aimed at any specific country and that they did not represent a "ban on exports".
This week, Chinese authorities said exports of gallium and germanium -- crucial for the manufacturing of semiconductors -- will require a license and declaration of their final recipient from August 1, citing national security concerns.
The export curbs follow Washington's blacklisting of Chinese companies in recent years, aimed at cutting them off from access to US technologies, including the most advanced chips.
They also came just a few days before a trip to Beijing by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during which ongoing US-China trade tensions are expected to be at the top of the agenda.
"The Chinese government is not targeting any particular country in implementing these export controls," commerce ministry spokeswoman Shu Jueting said at a press briefing on Thursday.
She added that China had notified the European Union and the United States prior to announcing the controls.
"The export control is not a ban on exports, and permits will be granted if the exports comply with the relevant regulations," Shu said.
Gallium -- found in integrated circuits, LEDs and solar panels, among other things -- is considered a critical raw material by the EU.
China accounted for 80 percent of global gallium production, according to a 2020 report by the European Commission.
Germanium is essential for making optical fibres and infrared camera lenses, with 80 percent of it also coming from China, according to the same report.
Beijing and Washington have tussled in recent years over the global market for chips.
The United States has tightened export restrictions on semiconductors in recent months and is pushing its allies to do the same.
From September, the Netherlands will impose restrictions on the export of technologies intended for the manufacture of electronic chips.
Shu on Thursday accused Washington of "abusing export control measures to continuously strengthen its crackdown on China's semiconductors and artificially segregate the global semiconductor market".
P.Schmidt--CPN