The elements of Gallium and Germanium are seen on a periodic table, in this illustration picture taken on July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. semiconductor wafer maker AXT Inc (AXTI.O) said its Chinese subsidiary Beijing Tongmei had received initial export permits for shipping gallium arsenide and germanium substrates - compounds key to chipmaking - to certain customers. China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that some Chinese companies had obtained export licences for gallium and germanium products, with more still being reviewed. This came after China's exports of germanium and gallium items plunged in August, the first month of the export controls，customs data showed on Wednesday. There were also no exports of wrought gallium products in August, compared to 5.15 tons in July and 7.67 tons in August in 2022, the data showed.

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Persons: Florence Lo, Beijing Tongmei, Tongmei, Amy Lv, Dominique Patton, Tom Hogue, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, AXT Inc, Beijing, China's Ministry of Commerce, China, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, . California, China, Beijing, United States, Washington