Western countries are making unreasonable and hypocritical demands on China over the cheap supply of rare earths, a leading state newspaper said on Thursday, adding Beijing would decide by itself how much to export.
The West only had itself to blame for closing its own rare earth mines because extraction costs there were too high, forcing them to turn to low-cost China, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily said in a commentary on its website (www.people.com.cn).
Any cut in Chinese exports could rattle firms that use the metals to make parts for vehicles, computers and cell phones, missiles and new energy technology.
More than 90 percent of global production of rare earths comes from China, although other countries have big untapped reserves.
“The world is seeing another injustice,” the newspaper wrote.
“China, which has all along not been allowed to buy high-tech goods from the United States and forced to buy large amounts of corn and soybeans from them, is now facing the problem of ‘having to’ export large amounts of cheap rare earths to the West.”
China does not even have a monopoly on rare earths, the commentary added, pointing out the country only had one-third of global reserves, even if it dominated supplies.
“Rare earths are a commodity. Each country has the right to decide how much it exports or imports. This is normal economic behavior. China has the absolute right to decide for itself how much rare earths it can export and produce,” the paper said.
China on Wednesday denied a report that the government plans to slash export quotas of rare earth metals next year, seeking to ease international jitters about China’s stranglehold on supplies.
Reports that China had halted shipments of rare earths to Japan during a sea territory dispute has raised the specter that Beijing could use its dominance of supplies as a political lever.
The European Union’s trade spokesman said on Wednesday that the region could not confirm claims that China was blocking rare earth shipments to Europe, adding that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said recently the country did not intend to close this market.
“The access to rare earths is a key concern for the European Commission and a key element of European industrial policy. We are therefore monitoring the situation closely at this time,” EU trade spokesman John Clancy said.
A slowdown in shipments may reflect a sharp drop in export quotas, which has left over-committed traders scrambling to cover orders placed in the first half of the year, analysts say.
The People’s Daily said that the West had had similar, and unfounded, panics in the past about “being held hostage” to the supply of raw materials.
During the Cold War the United States hoarded tin, fearing that Communist forces would sweep down through Southeast Asia and deny them supplies, it said.
“In the end this panic proved to be totally unwarranted, and it took the United States 30 years to clear their stocks,” the commentary noted dryly.
“This ‘hostage mentality’ is very common in the Western media. They often describe themselves as being blackmailed, and that the Chinese are evil-doers who want to ‘play the rare earths card and control them’,” it added.
