China sets up rare earth body

China’s rare earth industry set up an association on April 8 to promote sustainable and sound development of the sector， as reported by China.org.cn.

The association consisted of 155 members that include industry giants Aluminum Corporation of China and China Minmetals Corporation， said Su Bo， vice minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) which governs the association.

The association’s responsibilities include forming a reasonable price mechanism and creating a win-win situation for developers and consumers through its coordination efforts.

The association will also actively provide support and services for relevant departments and local governments， help maintain order in the sector， facilitate exchange and coop- eration between enterprises to spur innovation， and coordinate efforts to cope with international trade frictions and disputes.

China has announced production caps， stricter environmental standards and an export quota system for rare earth metals in recent years.

But the moves have triggered protests from several countries who claim that China is using the precious metals as a political bargaining chip.

In the latest dispute， the European Union， United States and Japan in March formally asked the WTO to settle a dispute with China over restrictions placed on exports of raw materials including rare earth elements.

China supplies more than 90 percent of rare earth products on the global market， but its reserves only account for about one-third of the world’s total.

Comment

Many countries in the world have rare earth reserves. You cannot rely on China alone to provide all the supplies. Rare earth exploitation in the country is heavily in debt to the environment.