Special permissions will be required to export gallium and germanium from China, the world’s largest producer of the metals, beginning next month.
It is in response to Washington’s efforts to restrict Chinese access to modern microprocessors.
The announcement comes only days before US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s high-stakes trip to Beijing.
China’s Ministry of Commerce stated on Monday that the restrictions were necessary to “protect national security and interests.”
Silvery metals are found in semiconductors, communications equipment, and military equipment. They are also important elements in products such as solar panels.
Semiconductors, which power everything from mobile phones to military hardware, are at the heart of a spat between the world’s two largest economies.
The US has taken steps to limit China’s access to technology that it thinks could be used for military purposes, such as supercomputing and artificial intelligence chips.
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Washington stated in October that it would require licenses for companies shipping chips to China that use US equipment or software, regardless of where they are manufactured.
Countries such as the Netherlands and Japan have joined the initiative.
The Netherlands said last week that it will limit the export of some semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
The Netherlands revealed earlier this year measures to ban its “most advanced” microchip technology exports.
The controls are expected to have an impact on ASML, a significant player in the worldwide semiconductor supply chain.
Meanwhile, Japan intends to limit certain of its computer chip exports.
The measures, announced in March, will have an impact on 23 different types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
China has frequently referred to the United States as a “tech hegemony” in response to Washington’s export prohibitions.
In recent months, Beijing has tightened limitations on US corporations associated with the US military, such as Lockheed Martin.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is scheduled to visit China for four days beginning Thursday, has warned against severing economic links between Washington and Beijing.
“I think we benefit and China benefits from as open trade and investment as possible, and it would be disastrous for us to try to decouple from China,” she told Congress last month.
Ms. Yellen will be the country’s second senior official to visit this year.
In June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, resuming high-level negotiations between the opposing giants.
