China's rare earth industry founds national association

Beijing (CNS) -- China's rare earth industry formed an association on Sunday which is expected to play a leading role in settling international trade disputes, crack down on rare earth smuggling and carry out industrial reforms.

The association was initiated by 13 state enterprises and institutes. It has absorbed 155 members covering every part of the industry chain.

A draft of an industrial white paper has already been compiled and will be released to the public in April or May, announced Chen Haiyan, head of the raw material industrial division at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The organization is obligated to guide the domestic industry in solving exterior disputes based on Chinese rare earth policies, as well as shouldering environmental protection responsibilities, said Gan Yong, vice president at the Chinese Academy of Engineering who will be the association's president.

Illegal exploitation, production, black market trading and smuggling will be severely controlled, complemented with a comprehensive range of regulations on rare earth exploitation, production and export, remarked MIIT Vice Minister Su Bo.

The association will also play a key role in mergers and reorganizations within the domestic industry.

Attendees of the founding ceremony included officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Commerce and other related departments of the State Council.