China will impose separate export requirements on tunnel boring and dredging equipment from Nov. 18, 2026, adding licensing and registration obligations for suppliers of machinery with civilian and military uses.
An Oct. 19 notice from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the General Administration of Customs (GAC) sets two routes for the tunneling products. Exporters need a license when shipping to sensitive countries or regions involved in disputes with China. For other destinations, they must register shipment information to obtain an export certificate. The notice does not identify the destinations subject to licensing.
The rule covers specified full-face machines that tunnel through soil or rock, including earth-pressure-balance and slurry shield machines and hard-rock tunnel boring machines. It also covers designated cutterheads, screw conveyors, segment erectors and main drive systems, as well as specified remanufacturing technology.
Walking excavators are covered if they meet any one of four tests: clearing a vertical obstacle higher than 1.2 meters, crossing water deeper than 1.5 meters, spanning a trench wider than three meters or climbing a slope steeper than 40 degrees. Wet concrete spraying machines designed for use above 3,000 meters are covered only if they meet every listed performance condition.
Under the registration route, exporters and end users must obtain permission before transferring or providing the Chinese-origin items to a destination involved in a dispute with China. Goods will not be released while customs challenges the accuracy or completeness of an export declaration.
A separate notice requires a license for every export of listed dredging equipment, regardless of destination. When dredger slurry pumps have a top speed of 400 revolutions per minute or below and an inlet diameter of 0.55 meters or above, they fall under the notice, which also names specified pump parts, dragheads and cutterheads.
MOFCOM cited national security and nonproliferation concerns, saying the equipment has civilian and military applications. The ministry said it would approve applications that meet the requirements.
In 2024, Herrenknecht AG told The Indian Express that Chinese customs clearance difficulties had hindered tunnel boring machine deliveries from China to India. The German company did not identify the customers or projects involved.
China also revised export controls on specified drones and related items for Nov. 18. Both machinery notices take effect that day.
