Following months of disruption in Qatar’s helium exports to global markets and the recent rise in tensions in the Middle East, China has temporarily banned exports of this vital material for the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Over the past few years, Qatar supplied one third of the world’s helium market, and half of China’s helium imports also came from Qatar.

China had previously imposed similar restrictions on exports of fuel, chemical fertilizers, and sulfuric acid due to disruption of the Strait of Hormuz; products whose market is heavily dependent on countries in the Persian Gulf region.