The United States solves the gallium ** problem, the supply of rare earth is not effective, and foreign media reverse their doubts.
In recent years, China's semiconductor industry has developed rapidly, and there is a tendency to catch up with and surpass the United States and become the leader of the semiconductor industry. Of course, this is just an illusion, compared with the semiconductor industry of the United States, China's semiconductor industry still started late, the foundation is weak, and the lack of patented technology, so it is an exaggeration to say that China's semiconductor industry has a tendency to catch up with the United States.
The so-called speaker has no intention of listening, but the United States attaches great importance to this matter, and the United States is still a relatively domineering country, so the United States began to follow the trend and suppress China's semiconductor industry.
In March 2023, Lao Mei pulled Japan and the Netherlands to form a ** alliance to restrict the export of medium and high-end lithography machines. On July 23, Japan officially implemented 23 export control bans, implementing export controls on lithography machines for semiconductor equipment with sub-45nm processes.
The Netherlands will also control the export of semiconductor equipment on September 1, and ASML's high-end DUV lithography machines will also be restricted from exports.
For semiconductors in the United States, Japan and the Netherlands"Coalition"China has also taken countermeasures. Since August this year, China has imposed export controls on unauthorized exports of gallium and germanium.
China is the world's largest producer of gallium and germanium. If gallium and germanium ** are insufficient, the United States, Japan, the Netherlands and other countries will have no semiconductor raw materials, and their semiconductor industry will be affected.
In this regard, the former US Department of Defense has said: gallium's ** is actually insufficient, and efforts are currently being made to find a solution. Some time ago, the former ** Biden of the United States said: The ** problem of gallium has been solved. In this regard, some foreign media said: Our rare earth ** has no impact.
So, is the old problem of American gallium ** really solved?I don't think so.
As we all know, Biden's so-called gallium chain solution is nothing more than refining gallium from waste electronics to meet domestic demand for gallium. Of course, refining gallium from waste electronic products is not a good way to alleviate the gallium crisis, and it is more conducive to protecting the environment.
But for now, it seems that this is only a palliative approach. Why?I think there are several reasons for this.
The first is technological progress, as we all know, the technology to extract gallium from waste electronics is not mature, and even the former United States, a major technology powerhouse, cannot do it. After all, the former United States has been importing gallium from abroad, and there is no shortage of gallium. This time, China will impose export controls on gallium, and the United States will not be able to break through the refining technology of gallium, nor will it have the corresponding refining equipment. On this basis, the former has a limited amount of gallium in used electronics in the United States.
Secondly, the extraction of gallium from electronic products requires the establishment of a complete system, which will not be possible for a while. As we all know, it takes a long time to establish an industrial system, ranging from years to years. The human, material, and financial resources invested at this stage are astronomical, so economic benefits should be considered. The United States does have a lot of money, but it also has to consider reality, and I think it is unrealistic at this stage for the United States to solve the problem of gallium.
Finally, refining gallium from electronics is a matter of global cooperation, and it is difficult to rely on one country to do it. Given that our country controls the export of gallium and germanium, the shortage of gallium is not limited to the United States. Even if the U.S. can extract from e-waste**, the refining of gallium will require a concerted effort from other countries. Only in this way can gallium be extracted from e-waste in the long run.
As a result, Biden said that the United States has solved the problem of the gallium ** chain, which is just a relatively optimistic statement, and it is not a cure for the symptoms.
From the very beginning, China has defended the strategy of global common development and done its best to maintain the harmonious development of the global semiconductor industry.
Unfortunately, the United States has suppressed other countries for its own hegemony, resulting in the global semiconductor industry"Chickens fly and dogs jump"。Once again, I hope that the United States can take a step back, and China can go further, so that the global semiconductor industry can contribute to harmonious coexistence.