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As early as last year, China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced that they had taken export control measures on two rare metals, germanium and gallium. These two rare metals are widely used in high-tech fields, such as semiconductors, optical fibers, and solar cells. After China announced export controls on germanium and gallium, the prices of these two rare metals rose immediately, rising by one-third within a month. Then the U.S. photovoltaic industry was hit even harder. Because the U.S. photovoltaic industry itself is not competitive, and the price and difficulty of obtaining raw materials are constantly rising, many U.S. photovoltaic companies have been forced to suspend production or even on the verge of bankruptcy.

These two rare metals also pose a challenge to the US military industry because they are widely used in military radar, optoelectronic systems, and missile guidance systems and are irreplaceable. The scarcity of raw material sources has led to a situation where a large number of US high-tech military weapons are facing a situation where there is no raw material available.

In July this year, the US "Time" magazine published a column, which cited data from a report released by the US Pentagon last year. The article pointed out that the US military is facing a shortage of 69 rare metals including germanium and gallium.

In addition, the article also emphasized that China's export restrictions on these two rare metals may trigger a recession in the US economy. Due to the obstruction of the US development of these key minerals by US environmentalists, the US economic industry chain is becoming increasingly fragile. Therefore, after China announced export controls on germanium and gallium, both US military enterprises and future industries advocated by the Biden administration have been subject to certain restrictions and impacts.