Source: Nikkei
China is using export controls on germanium and high-purity quartz—critical inputs for Taiwan's chip and photonics industries—as economic coercion, matching Taiwan's own restrictions on advanced chip exports to the mainland. The move targets the materials that undergird Taiwan's ability to manufacture cutting-edge semiconductors and optical components. It exposes how deeply integrated but politically hostile the two economies remain, and indicates that future semiconductor competition will be fought as much through material gatekeeping as through manufacturing capability.