Rare earth policy key to sustainability: China Daily editorial

Chinese and US top officials met in London on Tuesday for a second day of trade talks seeking to ease the tensions caused by the US-initiated trade war. The high-profile meeting, attended by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, as well as US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, is widely viewed as a continuation of the two sides' earlier round of talks in Geneva last month. It takes place days after the top leaders of the two countries spoke on the telephone with the aim of bringing their heavily disrupted trade and economic relations back to the normal track.

For negotiations to proceed smoothly and yield results, it is imperative that the US representatives bear in mind the overall picture of Sino-US relations and engage in the discussions in the spirit of equality and mutual respect.

A key sticking point in the ongoing talks is apparently the restrictions on exports of rare earths from China. The issue has been receiving increasing attention after China started to implement a license requirement system for exports of the minerals in April.

Rare earths refer to 17 elements that play key roles in modern technologies, from smartphones to fighter jets to wind turbines. That China now leads the world's rare earth industry, accounting for 70 percent of its mining and 90 percent of its processing, has given critics excuses to accuse the country of seeking to weaponize the key materials, which they claimed threatens to disrupt global supply chains.

In the US, some have attributed the lack of progress in the bilateral trade talks to China failing to honor promises on rare earths by withholding their shipments. The accusation is oversimplifying a complex issue that China is seeking to handle responsibly for the benefits of the industry's long-term and sustainable development. The tightened management of the rare earths industry, including the recent move China has taken to regulate exports of these critical minerals, is in response to the increased demand. It aims to change the industry's unsustainable development model that has been characterized by extensive exploitation and severe ecological damage. Such a model not only threatens to deplete the country's reserves of these natural resources, but also poses risks to the long-term stability of the global industry and supply chains.

It is China's intent and policy to better regulate exports of rare earths, not to ban them. Facts will show that a well-regulated and eco-friendly Chinese rare earth industry will ultimately benefit global users.

Actually, after the implementation of the new license requirement policy, China's rare earths exports increased sharply in May, up 23 percent compared with April, reaching a one-year high at 5,864.60 tons.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce has recently approved a number of compliant applications, and will continue to strengthen the approval process for such applications after reviewing export license applications for rare earths in line with the country's laws and regulations. China is ready to enhance communication and dialogue with relevant countries on its license policies to facilitate convenient and compliant trade, as a ministry statement said.

That China has introduced a "green channel" to fast track rare earths export licenses to select European Union companies underscores its commitment to honoring its promises while ensuring the crucial elements are used benignly. The move also highlights the potential for constructive dialogue and cooperation in addressing the challenges posed by its tightened management of rare earths exports.

China attaches great importance to the reasonable concerns of its major trading partners including the US over issues that may compromise the sound, healthy and sustainable development of their mutually beneficial trade ties.

It hopes that the US side will do the same and put an end to its unreasonable restrictions and tariff assault and take full advantage of the London talks to resolve the differences that exist between the two countries on trade and the economy through dialogue and cooperation.