Global helium supply chain dynamics have once again shifted, as the Chinese Communist Party has announced temporary export restrictions on key semiconductor raw material helium. While China has domestic helium production, it still heavily relies on overseas helium. In recent years, Chinese enterprises have also acted as intermediaries, importing inexpensive Russian helium and re-exporting it to overseas markets such as Europe. Experts say that China’s restriction on helium exports is mainly for self-protection but, as an intermediary, it adds to global supply chain risks.
On July 10, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs issued a notice stating that, in accordance with the Chinese Foreign Trade Law, they have decided to implement temporary export control measures on helium. The notice is effective immediately.
Helium is often referred to as the “gas core” and is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, and extremely stable rare gas. It is typically extracted from natural gas containing helium and cannot be artificially produced or regenerated. Helium is widely used in the semiconductor, medical, aerospace, and high-end manufacturing industries.
In semiconductor manufacturing, helium is used for wafer cooling, plasma etching, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, lithography support, and leak detection.
China still heavily depends on overseas helium. In 2025, China’s total helium supply was 5,818 tons, with an import volume of 4,913 tons, resulting in an external dependency rate of up to 84%.
The China Industrial Gas Industry Association stated on WeChat that Qatar and Russia are core global helium producing countries, with their production accounting for nearly 50% of the total global production. China’s helium imports are highly concentrated in Qatar (approximately 54.6%) and Russia (approximately 44%). By the end of February 2026, due to the US-Iran conflict, the blockade cut off Qatar’s helium export shipping routes from the Persian Gulf; in April, Russia announced temporary export controls on helium until the end of 2027, compressing Asian quotas to 40% of the same period in 2025. China’s import channels are under significant pressure, leading to a helium supply gap of over 60%.
Cheng Zhengbing, a professor of finance and finance at Yunlin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, analyzed for Epoch Times that at this node, the CCP’s introduction of this ban is likely more for self-preservation and is different from the past rare earth restrictions targeted solely at the US.
China has been seeking to enhance its domestic chip manufacturing capabilities and reduce the industry’s reliance on US export-controlled Nvidia semiconductors. Cheng Zhengbing said, “China is now fiercely competing with the US in high-end industries but is in a lagging position. The export ban is to retain more abundant resources to develop its high-end manufacturing.”
Shen Mingshi, a researcher at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense Studies, also told Epoch Times that the reasons for the CCP’s control of helium exports are multifaceted, but it seems primarily for China’s industrial considerations. Currently, China can still import helium from Russia; if Russia tightens its helium supply by the end of 2027 and with foreign imports being restricted, China’s own helium resources will become even more strained.
Reuters reported that the CCP’s helium export ban may further squeeze the global supply chain as Chinese companies increasingly act as intermediaries, importing Russian helium and re-exporting some of it to overseas markets, including Europe.
According to Gasworld, a UK-based authority on the global industrial gas industry, in a report in June 2026, due to Western sanctions, Russia cannot directly export helium to markets in Europe. China imports inexpensive Russian helium that exceeds its own consumption and re-exports it to international markets, including Europe.
In 2025, Russia’s helium exports to China averaged 38 million cubic feet per month, a 60% annual increase; in December, exports reached 71 million cubic feet.
Cheng Zhengbing stated that the US is a significant helium supply country itself, so the CCP’s control of helium exports will not have a large impact on the US but will affect other countries, especially in Europe.
According to data from the US Geological Survey in 2024, the global distribution of helium production is as follows: the US 44%, Qatar 34%, Russia 9%, and Algeria 6%.
Cheng Zhengbing added that with Russia facing sanctions and Middle East helium supplies not smooth, China, as an exporting country, has strong monopolistic control. By restricting exports now, it will affect countries outside the US, especially those countries that have a high demand for helium from Russia and Qatar, and must obtain helium through China. “Therefore, China’s restriction of helium exports this time is a disruption to the global supply chain and adds significant risk.”
He mentioned, “The CCP has used its supply chain advantage in the past to control Australian agricultural products, Brazilian agricultural products, and many agricultural products in Taiwan. Now they have added one more item – helium. They are just an intermediary but leverage the role of the intermediary as one of the tools to manipulate the market and supply chain. Therefore, trading with such authoritarian countries must take this high level of risk into account.”
Shen Mingshi stated that the impact of the CCP tightening helium exports on the international supply chain depends on how many countries import from China, and whether these countries have other alternative sources of imports. This may affect European countries. However, these countries can also use this opportunity to adjust their sources of supply, diversify sources, and not rely entirely on China.