The Ministry of Commerce of China and the General Administration of Customs recently jointly issued a notice, announcing the implementation of a temporary ban on the export of helium. The policy takes effect immediately upon its release, on July 10th.

On July 10th, the Ministry of Commerce of China and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued a notice, announcing the implementation of a temporary ban on the export of helium. The policy takes effect immediately without any buffer period or purity exemption clauses, meaning that both industrial-grade and ultra-high-purity electronic-grade helium are included in the export control scope. This move is not only a defensive response to the turmoil in the global helium supply chain, but also marks an important step in China's strategic resource management towards greater refinement and systematization.

Helium: The "Invisible Key" of Advanced Manufacturing Processes

In popular perception, helium may only be a toy gas used for inflating balloons or making voices higher-pitched. However, deep within the modern high-tech industry, it is the "golden gas" that supports chip manufacturing. It is a non-renewable and artificially unsynthetically obtainable rare inert gas. Especially in advanced manufacturing processes such as 7nm, 5nm, and 3nm and below, due to its four key characteristics of extremely low boiling point (-268.9℃), extremely strong thermal conductivity, complete chemical inertness, and extremely small molecular volume, helium plays a decisive role in the following four critical aspects:

1. Backside cooling of wafers

In high-power processes such as plasma etching and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the front side of the wafer will endure extremely high temperatures. Helium is filled into the micrometer-sized gap between the wafer and the electrostatic suction cup (ESC), using its extremely high thermal conductivity (6 times that of nitrogen), to achieve rapid and uniform heat conduction within a few microseconds. Advanced manufacturing requires temperature control accuracy of ±0.5℃ or even ±1℃. Once the helium supply is insufficient, causing temperature失控， the silicon wafer will undergo nanoscale deformation or even be directly scrapped.

2. Core cooling of EUV lithography machines

EUV lithography machines are essential equipment for manufacturing 3nm and other cutting-edge chip processes. Their superconducting magnets and precise optical systems must maintain superconductivity and optical stability at 4K (-269℃). Liquid helium is the only medium to achieve and maintain this ultra-low temperature environment. If the temperature fluctuation exceeds 0.1℃， it will cause lithography distortion， resulting in the scrapping of the entire batch of wafers. The annual helium consumption of a single EUV lithography machine typically exceeds 10，000 liters.

3. High-precision helium mass spectrometry leak detection

Semiconductor manufacturing has extremely strict requirements for the vacuum environment. Any tiny intrusion of impurities will lead to a sharp decline in yield. The molecular size of helium is extremely small， and its penetrating power is extremely strong， with an extremely low background concentration in the air. By taking advantage of this characteristic， factories use helium throughout the process of the chamber， vacuum pipelines， and EUV high-vacuum systems for leak detection at the ppb (one billionth) level to maintain the bottom line of chip production's airtightness.

4. Process carrier gas and protective gas

In reaction processes such as film deposition and etching， helium is used as carrier gas to transport reaction gases， dilute mixtures， or for cavity blowing. Due to its complete chemical inertness， it can ensure the stability of the nanoscale process window while protecting the wafer surface from oxidation and eliminating any contamination residues. 

The more advanced the manufacturing process is, the greater the dependence on helium. Take the consumption of single-chip wafers as an example: mature processes of 90nm and above only require about 24L, 14-28nm processes need 40-60L, 7nm processes require approximately 120L, and at the 3nm advanced process, the helium consumption of a single chip wafer will soar to over 150L. It can be said that without precise temperature control and protection by helium gas, the manufacturing of modern advanced process chips at the physical level will not be possible.

From "passively accepting defeat" to "actively breaking through"

However, China is a typical "helium-poor" country. The local helium abundance is extremely low, and the long-term dependence on foreign sources has been as high as over 85%. The import sources are highly concentrated in Qatar and Russia.

Since 2026, the global helium supply chain has been severely affected. The geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have led to the obstruction of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and important production facilities in Qatar were attacked and shut down; at the same time, Russia announced temporary export restrictions on helium, significantly reducing the quota for the Asian market. The two core supply countries simultaneously tightened exports, causing the global helium supply gap to exceed 40% at one point, and the international market price fluctuated violently. Against this backdrop, the supply-demand pattern of China's helium dependence being high domestically and high growth in exports has posed a potential threat to the security of the domestic high-end industrial chain.

The introduction of this temporary export ban is primarily aimed at prioritizing the supply of raw materials for key domestic industries. Given the weak domestic production capacity and restricted import channels, prohibiting the outflow of helium is a necessary measure to safeguard the bottom line of normal operation in core fields such as semiconductors, medical care, and aerospace. It is worth noting that previously, the helium exported by China was mostly low-purity gas for consumer scenarios, and the gas sources were mostly from the re-export of imported helium. The implementation of the ban essentially cut off the "import - processing - re-export" low-end trade chain, redirecting the limited helium resources to the domestic high-end application market.

From a deeper perspective, this policy also sends a clear signal that China is promoting the transformation and upgrading of the helium industry. For a long time, the domestic helium industry has faced a structural contradiction of "low-end surplus, high-end restricted". After the export restrictions are tightened, industry resources will further concentrate in high-value-added fields, forcing enterprises to increase efforts in core technologies such as helium exploration and development, purification and refinement, recycling and efficient storage and transportation. In recent years, China has made breakthroughs in areas such as LNG flash gas helium extraction and deep cold separation equipment domestic substitution, and domestic production has steadily increased. The construction of salt cavern helium storage facilities is also underway, laying the foundation for achieving a higher level of self-reliance in the future.

From a global perspective, China's ban this time is not an active external pressure, but a defensive measure under the background of intensified global resource competition. As countries have included key minerals such as helium in their national security strategies, resource control is moving from behind the scenes to the forefront. China's tightening of exports is not only a reinforcement of its own industrial chain security but also an active participation in the reconstruction of the global helium supply chain.

In the short term, the supply-demand gap of helium in China will continue, and retail prices may be under pressure, and the raw material guarantee for high-end manufacturing still faces challenges. But in the long term, this policy will accelerate the transformation of China's helium industry from "relying on imports" to a multi-source model of "import + independent helium extraction + recycling utilization". When the "golden gas" valve is firmly held in its own hands, the confidence of China's high-end manufacturing will also become more solid. 

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