الصين تتعهد: لن نتسامح مع تهريب المعادن الإستراتيجية

The Chinese authorities have pledged to adopt a policy of zero tolerance towards the smuggling of strategic minerals, announcing an enhancement of law enforcement to combat illegal shipments and unauthorized transport of related technologies.

During a meeting held today, China's Export Control Coordination Authority revealed recent cases of smuggling vital minerals, which included providing misleading data and using intermediary countries to re-ship vital minerals, according to the China Central Television (CCTV).

China has exploited its dominance in the production of vital minerals and rare earth element magnets amid its trade war with the United States.

All shipments now require licenses from the Ministry of Commerce, affecting global supplies at a time when governments around the world are urging Beijing to increase its flows of these minerals.

For its part, the Chinese government announced that it is accelerating the pace of granting licenses. Representatives from the ministries of commerce, public security, and national security attended Saturday's meeting, along with officials from the judiciary and the public prosecution, as well as officials from the customs and postal authorities.

The authorities called for "firmly preventing re-shipping operations" and including companies that attempt to circumvent export controls on the blacklist.

Exporters will also be provided with guidelines on applying the principle of due diligence to prevent products from reaching end users related to the defense sector.

In a separate context, Chinese intelligence agencies accused foreign intelligence agencies of stealing controlled rare earth materials through postal packages.

They clarified that they thwarted an attempt by an unnamed country that was seeking to obtain those materials illegally for storage purposes.