China has imposed a temporary ban on helium exports with immediate effect, as renewed military conflict in the Middle East threatens to create new shortages of the gas vital for chip manufacturing, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Customs Administration announced.According to the announcement, the ban applies to all foreign shipments, with no exemptions or destination markets specified.The move comes as global helium supplies have come under severe pressure amid the US-Israeli war over Iran, which forced the closure of a major facility in Qatar and affected shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Helium is essential for heat management in semiconductor production and cannot be produced quickly by other industrial processes.
China acts to secure domestic supplies
China imports about 85 percent or more of its helium requirements, with Qatar accounting for more than half of China’s imports in recent years. Despite efforts to increase domestic production, China remains heavily dependent on foreign helium.Export restrictions could further reduce global supply as Chinese companies increasingly act as middlemen, importing Russian helium and re-exporting some quantities to foreign markets, including Europe.Analysts said the ban was a “clear defensive move” aimed at prioritizing uninterrupted supply for domestic chip makers amid rising memory demand due to the artificial intelligence boom.“Beijing is moving quickly to lock up helium supply for its chip push before global competition for remaining volumes intensifies or prices rise further,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis.
Supply shock hits semiconductor industry
Helium is extracted from natural gas fields in unusually high concentrations. In chip manufacturing, it is used for wafer cooling, plasma etching, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, and lithography support.Gas production is highly concentrated among just a few countries, with the United States accounting for 42.6 percent of global production and Qatar 33.2 percent, making the industry highly vulnerable amid the Middle East conflict.In April, S&P Global noted that the war was disrupting supplies of several key raw materials, with helium “at greatest risk” due to its use in semiconductor manufacturing.China’s helium imports fell by more than 10 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2026 amid the conflict, although exports have continued to rise amid rising global prices.