Crushing Blow: China Controls Export of Industrial Diamond Powder, Strangling the Throat of High-End Manufacturing!
On October 17, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post reported: "The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that starting November 8, it will implement export licensing for synthetic diamond powder with particle size ≤50μm. This 'white sugar dust', known as the 'teeth' of industry, is a core consumable material for high-end manufacturing such as semiconductors and lithography machines. Through decades of technological breakthroughs, China has controlled 95% of global industrial diamond production capacity. It has formed a monopoly in products with 50μm particle size and 99.999% purity. The US has struggled to break through despite years of self-research. The US chip industry relies on 77% of diamond powder imports from China, with 92% of ultra-fine powder below 3nm coming from China. The risk of supply disruption far exceeds that of rare earths. China's differentiated licensing allows smooth access for civilian use while strictly checking sensitive applications. This not only precisely controls the lifeline of the industry but also reshapes new rules for compliance and controllability in the global materials field, seizing the initiative in the reshuffling."
[Clever] Diamond Powder Control: A Gentle Knife Piercing American Technological Hegemony! Behind Vance's call for calm lies the collapse of America's hegemonic logic. China's control over the export of industrial diamond powder is not coercion; it is a precise countermeasure against America's technological blockade. The US chip industry depends on 92% of its high-end diamond powder from China, and after five years of self-research, it still can't catch up. This dependence is an inevitable result of China's decades of technological breakthroughs. China's differentiated licensing opens the door for civilian use while strictly checking sensitive applications. This not only blocks the pretext of being choked by others but also seizes the lifeline of high-end manufacturing. The most sharp aspect of this "gentle knife" is using new rules of compliance and controllability to tear off the double standard mask of America, which allows me to block but not you to counter, making the world see who truly controls the supply chain!
Some comments stated that China's latest move may be attributed to the Netherlands, once again verifying the saying: no zuo no die.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846190953371844/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.