A senior Chinese trade official yesterday denied the country’s policies on rare earths constituted cartel-like behavior and insisted shipments of the materials to Japan were never blocked.
Rare earths — a group of 17 elements — are used in high-tech products ranging from flat-screen televisions to lasers to hybrid cars, and China controls more than 95 percent of the global market.
However, Jiang Fan (江帆), vice director-general of the commerce ministry’s foreign trade department, insisted that the companies involved in the trade — not Beijing — were setting the prices.
“They are deciding the price according to the market and the Chinese government cannot control this,” she said during a two-day rare earths industry conference in Xiamen.
The father of China’s economic reforms, Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), once compared China’s rare earths to the Middle East’s oil, and critics increasingly accuse Beijing of emulating the 12-member OPEC cartel.
China has cut rare earth exports by between 5 percent and 10 percent a year since 2006 as demand and prices soar.
The official China Daily newspaper reported yesterday the country would again cut rare earth export quotas by up to 30 percent next year to protect the metals from over-exploitation, citing an unnamed commerce ministry official.
Jiang said she was not aware of any new export quota decision and Xu Xu (徐旭), the chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters called the report “nonsense.”
However, both officials echoed concerns that rare earths reserves could run dry within the next two decades if production remained at current levels.
“Rare earths are not only limited in terms of exports, but also in terms of mining and production — this is for environmental protection and to protect the materials,” Jiang said.
She dismissed suggestions that export cuts were aimed at encouraging foreign firms to move -manufacturing to China.
Jiang also denied Japan’s charge that China’s rare earth shipments to its neighbor stopped last month in a bitter row — the worst in years between the two countries.
“No, never,” she said, laughing when asked about the allegations. “You can see the figures from China customs.”
Japan, however, insists that Beijing is still restricting exports amid ongoing political tensions and said yesterday it was seeking talks on the issue.
“I’ve instructed officials to set up talks with China. Once they’re ready, I want them to get our vice minister in touch with the Chinese counterpart,” Japanese Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata said.
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