What is "export control"?

Export control (ExportControl) is the law and regulation of commodity export formulated by the state for the needs 

of political, economic, military and foreign policy, and is to control the export country and export goods. 

Main measures: 

(1) Implement an export license system for raw materials, semi-finished products and 

commodities in insufficient supply required for domestic production, and limit exports; 

(2) Implement special export licenses and strict control over strategic materials, cutting-edge 

technologies and advanced products; (3) undertaking certain international obligations to impose 

automatic export restrictions on certain types of goods; (4) The state shall control the quality and price 

of export commodities and strengthen their competitiveness.

On October 20,2023 the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued 

an announcement on the export control of graphite items. Through the exchange of a number of 

domestic natural graphite enterprises, it is understood that at present, domestic natural graphite 

enterprises have different views on the policy, and in the face of the release of export control policies, 

some spherical graphite companies have certain concerns about the market. The following are the views 

of some natural graphite companies:

Company A: The company's personnel said that the foreign customers they cooperate with also have certain 

concerns, and in order to prevent the tightening of control in the later stage, the orders originally planned to 

be sent to Japan and South Korea at the end of 2023 hope to be completed ahead of schedule. “

Company B: The company's personnel have a relatively calm view on this policy, saying that the export 

qualification of spherical graphite is formal and complete, as long as the export license is handled in 

accordance with the relevant procedures in a timely manner, the export order is planned in advance, 

and the delivery date can be arranged after negotiation and communication with foreign customers.

Company C: The company believes that the policy is to tighten the export of natural graphite, or cause a 

negative impact on the natural graphite export market, and it will be clearer in mid to late November.

The introduction of the policy to the domestic natural graphite market caused some concerns, export control 

is the need to handle the relevant documents, because the process takes time, the cycle is about half a month, 

or will cause the delay in the delivery of foreign orders, so the short-term believes that this news will be bearish 

natural graphite market. As the world's largest graphite producer and exporter, China's graphite resources are 

also the top priority, which is conducive to ensuring the safety and stability of the global supply chain in the 

long run.