Government and Policy

Ensuring sustainability of rare earth

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-07 17:32

China has not blocked and will not block exports of rare earth, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told European political and business leaders in his keynote speech at the Sixth China-EU Business Summit on Wednesday.

"China is not using rare earth as a bargaining chip," Wen said.

"We aim for the world's sustainable development." Wen, a geology major in college, said he studied rare earth for years.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the rare earth metals of China were exported to some countries at a low price due to a lack of proper management and lack of extraction technologies, as well as chaos in supervision, Wen said.

Some countries accumulated so much rare earth that their reserves are still being used today, he said. "It is necessary to exercise management and control over the rare earth industry, but there won't be any embargo," he said.

Some countries accumulated so much of China's rare earth metals that their reserves are still being used today, he said.

"We have only taken the necessary measures to strengthen control and regulation of rare earth mineral resources, but our actions should not be interpreted as blockade or embargo," he said.