China to ramp up strategic minerals control from the source

China has vowed to ramp up control of its strategic minerals at the source and strengthen oversight across the entire supply chain to prevent the illegal outflow of strategic minerals, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Wednesday.

The remarks were made by a spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday, following a national-level meeting of the export control coordination mechanism meeting held in Changsha, Human Province, on Monday. 

Strategic mineral control must start from the source and extend across the entire chain —  mining, smelting, processing, transportation, manufacturing, sales, and export —  to effectively prevent illegal outflows, the ministry spokesperson noted.

All departments must divide responsibilities and coordinate efforts, strengthen routine supervision, and promptly identify risks and hidden dangers. Offenders who defy regulations must be identified and investigated, the spokesperson said. 

All localities should monitor the production and operation of strategic minerals and their flow, guide enterprises to improve their compliance awareness and capabilities, and ensure that strategic mineral control measures are effectively implemented, the spokesperson added.

On Monday, the national export control coordination office held a meeting in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, and outlined comprehensive work arrangements for 10 departments including the MOFCOM and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and local authorities from key resource-rich provinces, including North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and East China's Jiangxi Province. 

Export controls on strategic minerals are tethered to national security and development interests. Preventing illegal outflows requires strengthened oversight at every stage of the production and supply chain, the spokesperson stressed.

All departments pledged to fulfill their supervision and law enforcement duties according to their responsibilities, must strictly punish violations, and continuously enhance regulatory deterrence.

On April 4, in a joint announcement, MOFCOM and General Administration of Customs unveiled export control measures on certain items related to seven types of medium and heavy rare earth minerals, according to a notice seen on MOFCOM's website.

The measures, which took effect immediately, aim to better safeguard national security and interests and fulfill non-proliferation and other international obligations, a MOFCOM spokesperson said, in response to a media inquiry.