Ministry defends strict rare earths stance
By Richard Fu |
July 26, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA will continue to tighten regulation of its rare earths industry while working with other countries to solve a trade dispute over its policies, a spokesman for the nation's industry ministry said yesterday.
On Monday, the World Trade Organization said it would establish a panel to investigate China's export quotas and tariffs on rare earths following complaints by the United States, the European Union and Japan that the restrictions broke global rules as they gave an unfair competitive advantage to China's domestic manufacturers.
Zhu Hongren, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told reporters that China was willing to have discussions and full consultations within the WTO framework to solve the disputes, but the nation would continue to protect its rare earth resources.
"In any case, the Chinese government will surely provide reasonable protection for rare earth resources and ensure environmental protection and sustainable development," he said.
Rare earths are a group of metallic elements vital in the manufacture of an array of high-tech products including missiles, wind turbines, hybrid cars and smart phones.
China has about 23 percent of the world's rare earth reserves but supplies more than 90 percent of the world's demand.
Rampant exploration and mining of rare earths has taken its toll on China's environment, forcing the government to impose production caps and export quotas and stricter environmental rules to reduce environmental damage.
But this has also caused a surge in prices, worrying some overseas manufacturers.
Zhu told reporters that some foreign countries rich in rare earth resources didn't mine their own deposits but instead "groundlessly condemned" China's policies meant to conserve its resources and protect its environment.
"This is not conducive to the rational use of rare earth resources and is not conducive to the development of the rare earth industry," he said.
Meanwhile, Zhu said there were "clear signs" the slowdown in China's industrial output growth had stabilized.
It rose 9.5 percent in June from a year earlier after gaining 10.5 percent in January-June and 13.9 percent last year.
Zhu said that, despite the slowdown, growth had been relatively solid and not low compared with levels of other developed or developing countries.
The slower expansion was in part due to the government's efforts to rebalance the economy - shifting from investment-led growth to consumer spending.
On Monday, the World Trade Organization said it would establish a panel to investigate China's export quotas and tariffs on rare earths following complaints by the United States, the European Union and Japan that the restrictions broke global rules as they gave an unfair competitive advantage to China's domestic manufacturers.
Zhu Hongren, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told reporters that China was willing to have discussions and full consultations within the WTO framework to solve the disputes, but the nation would continue to protect its rare earth resources.
"In any case, the Chinese government will surely provide reasonable protection for rare earth resources and ensure environmental protection and sustainable development," he said.
Rare earths are a group of metallic elements vital in the manufacture of an array of high-tech products including missiles, wind turbines, hybrid cars and smart phones.
China has about 23 percent of the world's rare earth reserves but supplies more than 90 percent of the world's demand.
Rampant exploration and mining of rare earths has taken its toll on China's environment, forcing the government to impose production caps and export quotas and stricter environmental rules to reduce environmental damage.
But this has also caused a surge in prices, worrying some overseas manufacturers.
Zhu told reporters that some foreign countries rich in rare earth resources didn't mine their own deposits but instead "groundlessly condemned" China's policies meant to conserve its resources and protect its environment.
"This is not conducive to the rational use of rare earth resources and is not conducive to the development of the rare earth industry," he said.
Meanwhile, Zhu said there were "clear signs" the slowdown in China's industrial output growth had stabilized.
It rose 9.5 percent in June from a year earlier after gaining 10.5 percent in January-June and 13.9 percent last year.
Zhu said that, despite the slowdown, growth had been relatively solid and not low compared with levels of other developed or developing countries.
The slower expansion was in part due to the government's efforts to rebalance the economy - shifting from investment-led growth to consumer spending.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
