Commissioner Says China's Measures to Restrict Rare Earth Exports Conform to WTO Principles

Sun Zhenyu, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said on the 6th that China’s measures to restrict the export of rare earths have fully taken into account the commitments made to the World Trade Organization.

Sun Zhenyu, who was China’s first ambassador to the World Trade Organization, said that according to the WTO principle, a country’s management measures for a product due to depletion of resources, environmental pollution, etc. must be applied to both domestic enterprises and importers. Reduce foreign demand without cutting domestic demand.

Sun Zhenyu said that China’s current management measures for the extraction, production, processing, and export of rare earths, on the one hand, reduce rare earth exports, while on the other hand it cuts production and domestic corporate supplies. This policy fully considers China's commitment to the WTO.

Rare earth is an important non-renewable strategic resource. It is increasingly used in new energy, new materials, energy conservation and environmental protection, aerospace, electronic information and other fields.

Statistics show that China's total rare earth reserves only account for 30% of the world's total, but China is currently the world's largest exporter of rare earths, providing 90% of the world's total production and trade. In recent years, China has taken necessary management and restrictions on rare earth industries in accordance with domestic laws and regulations.

Sun Zhenyu believes that the supply of rare earth should be diversified. We hope that rare earth importing countries and importers will open up rare earth resources in other countries. We are also willing to conduct technical cooperation with foreign rare earth producing countries.

2011 marks the 10th anniversary of China’s accession to the WTO. Sun Zhenyu believes that the biggest benefit to China in the 10 years since China's accession to the WTO is "locking in the achievements of China's reform and opening up over the past 30 years and safeguarding and promoting further reform and opening up in the future."

He said that in view of actual economic development and trade conditions, China's accession to the WTO has played a significant role in promoting economic development, trade, and investment in China and other countries in the world.