China’s state council said the country will pay equal attention to resource protection, development, and the use of rare earths.
“The regulations specify punishment for illegal activities in areas including rare earth mining, smelting and extraction, product distribution, as well as unlawful imports and exports,” it said.
“The country will promote the high-quality development of the rare earth industry and encourage the research, development and application of new technologies, new materials and new equipment.”
The regulations will reportedly establish a system to trace the flow of rare earths from mining, smelting and separation, and export.
The moves follow China last year implementing export restrictions on germanium and gallium and several rare earth technologies.
It’ll be seen as the latest move in a US-China trade war and an escalation in tensions with the EU. Brussels and Beijing are currently in talks regarding the EU’s plan to impose higher tariffs on the imports of electric vehicles.
Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, the Global Times, sought to quell concerns raised by “Western media” that the rules are to “strengthen regulation for political purposes.”
“Amid the current internal and external environment, the new regulations are a common international practice and do not target any particular country,” the Global Times quoted Chinese Academy of Social Sciences exert Gao Lingyun saying.
“They are designed to make sure that the rare earths are used for legitimate purposes in order to safeguard China’s national security and better fulfil international obligations.”
China dominates rare earths mining, having produced 240,000 tonnes of rare earth-oxide equivalent in 2023, compared to the world total of 350,000t, according to the US Geological Survey.
