China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the General Administration of Customs have extended the suspension of the export controls announced in October 2025, including those on synthetic graphite anode material. On 9 November, they said the controls will stay paused from 11 November 2026 to 10 January 2027.

The extension was published as MOFCOM and Customs Announcement No. 58 of 2026. The previous suspension, announced on 7 November 2025, was due to end on 10 November, so the pause continues with no gap.

What stays paused

For graphite, the key notice is Announcement No. 58 of 2025, issued on 9 October 2025. It covers artificial graphite anode material, anode made from blended artificial and natural graphite, and the equipment and technology used to make anode, including granulation, graphitisation furnaces and coating. The same notice also covers high-energy lithium-ion cells, LFP cathode and cathode precursors.

On paper, these controls have never come into force. They were due to start on 8 November 2025, but were suspended the day before, so exporters of anode material and anode-making equipment do not formally need a licence under these rules.

What has not changed

China’s 2023 graphite licensing, in force since 1 December 2023, was not part of the suspension. Natural flake graphite, spherical and expandable graphite, and high-purity synthetic graphite still need an export licence, and China has continued to enforce these rules, including the criminal case against Punai Group over alleged smuggling of natural flake graphite.

Dates to watch

• 27 November 2026: a separate suspension ends. Since December 2024, China has applied stricter end-user and end-use checks to graphite exports to the United States, and those checks were suspended in November 2025 until 27 November 2026. The 9 November announcement did not cover them, so unless MOFCOM extends that suspension, the checks return on 28 November.
• 10 January 2027: the anode pause ends, on the same date as the US-China trade truce agreed in Kuala Lumpur, which MOFCOM has said runs to 10 January 2027.