China has halted helium exports due to the threat of war in the Middle East to global supplies
China has imposed a temporary ban on helium exports effective immediately, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs announced, as the resumption of military conflict in the Middle East threatens to spark a new shortage of the gas needed to manufacture chips.The ban applies to all foreign shipments without any exceptions or specific destination markets, according to the announcement.The move comes as global helium supplies have come under severe pressure during the US-Israel war on Iran, which forced a major facility in Qatar to close and affected shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Helium is essential for heat management in semiconductor production and cannot be made quickly from other industrial processes.
China is working to secure domestic supplies
China imports about 85% or more of its helium needs, and Qatar represents more than half of China’s imports in recent years. Despite efforts to expand domestic production, China remains heavily dependent on helium abroad.The export ban could further pressure global supply because Chinese companies are increasingly acting as intermediaries, 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 supplies to domestic chipmakers amid rising demand for memory due to the artificial intelligence boom.“Beijing is moving early to secure helium supplies for its batch of chips 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 chip cooling, plasma etching, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition and lithography support.Gas production is highly concentrated among a few countries, with the United States accounting for 42.6 percent of global production and Qatar 33.2 percent, leaving the industry extremely vulnerable amid conflict in the Middle East.In April, Standard & Poor’s Global noted that the war had disrupted 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 continued to rise amid rising global prices.