Dozens convicted of illegally shipping 166 tonnes of the strategic material, marking a major enforcement of Beijing’s export controls
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Xinyi Wuin Beijing
Published: 8:00pm, 18 Dec 2025
A Chinese court has convicted 27 individuals of smuggling more than 166 tons of antimony, a critical mineral used in weapons, semiconductors and flame retardants, in a significant enforcement action under Beijing’s tighter export controls for dual-use items.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong province ruled that the group had illegally shipped the critical mineral without obtaining export licenses, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
Lead defendant Wang Wubin was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 1 million yuan (US$142,000), while the others received penalties ranging from four months of detention to five years in prison.
“The circumstances were serious and warrant severe punishment in accordance with the law,” the court said, noting that Wang conspired with an overseas smuggling gang to move the metal ingots out of China between February and March this year.
Critical minerals such as antimony have emerged as a key battleground in the technological and security rivalry between major powers. Beijing, which holds dominance over the global supply and production of many of these materials, has increasingly tightened its grip on them.
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Wang was found to have organized the group to purchase, conceal and disguise the metal to evade customs.
Of the more than 166 tons of antimony said to be smuggled, about 96 tons were seized by customs, according to the court, which did not disclose the whereabouts of the remaining illicit shipments.
The case was not an isolated one. Also on Tuesday, the Shanghai Third Intermediate People’s Court sentenced a group for smuggling prohibited goods and fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds.
The group had shipped more than 325 tons of gallium, germanium, antimony and other metal ingots out of China without obtaining the necessary export permits, local media outlet Thepaper.cn reported.
China, the world’s largest producer of antimony, began requiring licenses for exports of certain antimony products, including its ores and metals, in September 2024.
In December 2024, Beijing banned all exports of antimony – alongside gallium, germanium and super hard materials – to the United States and implemented new export-control regulations for “dual-use” goods – items with potential military applications along with civilian functions.
Following a meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in late October, Beijing announced a one-year suspension of the ban on the US.
However, exporters still require a license for any overseas sales, as the materials, including antimony, remain on the country’s dual-use export-control list.
Beijing has also clarified that the suspension does not lift the ban on exports of dual-use goods to US military users.
China jails antimony smugglers in tough stance on critical minerals
Dozens convicted of illegally shipping 166 tonnes of the strategic material, marking a major enforcement of Beijing’s export controls.
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