Lanthanum processing in China REUTERS
09.04.2012/XNUMX/XNUMX - China strengthens control over high-tech metals
China controls almost the entire world production of so-called rare earths, which are essential for many high-tech products - and annoys other countries with its pricing policy. Now Beijing has set up an industry association for the sector to control it even more.
Beijing - When it comes to the extraction and production of rare earths, China has a monopoly - much to the displeasure of other nations. In the recent past, there have been several disputes about high-tech metals. Beijing has now responded to the international protests and founded a trade association for rare earths. Among other things, this is intended to promote consolidation in the industry, which is important for electronics and defense.
The association will coordinate the mining and processing of raw materials and develop “a reasonable price mechanism”, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on Sunday. The group will help to shoulder China's responsibility for international rare earth trade. Undersecretary Su Bo said the Beijing government wanted to close down smaller businesses, giving big companies a higher stake. In addition, environmental protection should be improved.
Rare earths are needed for many electronic products such as flat screens, smart phones, wind turbines and medical equipment. China has about one-third of the world's reserves and currently controls around 90 percent of world production. In recent years, China has lowered its export quotas for rare earths again and again. The reason given was the increased demand in their own country and growing concerns about environmental damage in the production of ores.
However, the foreign-based industry reliant on metals accuses the Beijing government of illegally holding down exports to bring benefits to domestic industry and lure foreign companies into the country. At the end of March, the EU, the US and Japan had sued the World Trade Organization for their restrictive export policy for rare earths. With its export quotas, tariffs and minimum prices, China is discriminating against its global customers, thereby violating its accession treaty to the WTO.
China always denied the allegations and said the controls served to protect the environment and supplies. "Many countries have deposits of rare earths, you can not expect from China alone to provide all supplies," said the newly appointed chairman of the industry association, Gan Yong.
The association is under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, official Xinhua News Agency reported. Overall, more than 130 companies should be members, including the state-owned giant Aluminum Corp. of China and China Minmetals Corp.
(Reuters / DAPD)
