More on denials from China, the truth, who knows these days, something to keep your eye on…
_________________________________________________________________
China Denies Plans on Rare Earth Export Quotas: Report
A commerce ministry official denied a report that China would cut export quotas for rare earth metals by 30 percent next year, the China Business News said on Wednesday.
A day earlier, an unnamed commerce ministry official told the China Daily that Beijing would reduce the quotas to protect the country’s rare earth resources and avoid depletion of the crucial manufacturing minerals.
The China Business Daily, also citing an unnamed Ministry of Commerce official, said that report was groundless and that no such measures would be implemented.
The conflicting reports in state media compounded questions about how Beijing plans to manage its reserves of the minerals, used in products from autos, computers and cell phones to missiles and new energy technologies.
China accounts for more than 90 percent of the world’s production of rare earth metals.
Also on Tuesday, U.S. trade officials said they were checking a New York Times report that China had blocked shipments to the United States and Europe of the minerals.
China’s reserves of rare earth have dropped by 37 percent between 1996-2003 and might run dry within 15 to 20 years if the current rate of production is maintained, the Ministry of Commerce said last week.
Japan last month accused China of halting shipments amid a political dispute, raising the specter that Beijing could use its monopoly over the resources as a political tool.
_________________________________________________________________
Click on the article title for a link to full original referenced article.
myBlessedHope 