China cracks down on rare earth smugglers, vowing stronger export controls

Chinese authorities said a number of suspects involved in strategic mineral smuggling had been arrested and vowed to strengthen enforcement of export controls to prevent the illegal use of goods and technologies for military purposes.

The statement from the Ministry of Commerce came during a high-level meeting on Saturday in Nanning city in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region – an area of southern China rich in strategic mineral reserves. The meeting was organised by the Office of the National Export Control Coordination Mechanism and attended by multiple ministries.

Officials at the meeting said the situation in combating the smuggling of strategic minerals “remained severe”. They said they planned to set up a joint enforcement and coordination centre for export controls on dual-use items for both civilian and military use as they carried out a special operation to crack down on smuggling.

“Relevant departments must take full responsibility for their duties, maintain a high-pressure approach of strict investigation and enforcement, and firmly prevent the illegal outflow of strategic minerals and related technologies,” the statement said.

The authorities launched the special operation to combat strategic mineral smuggling in May, which resulted in the arrests. In the progress update meeting on Saturday, authorities did not specify the exact number of arrests they had made so far.

They said that some offenders continued to collude with foreign parties to carry out illegal exports driven by personal gain. They warned that tactics to evade – such as false declarations and transshipment through third countries – had become “increasingly covert”.

South China Morning Post