The Ministry of Commerce Photo: VCG

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Friday that China is planning a special operation to crack down on the smuggling and illegal export of strategic minerals. 

The remarks were made at a joint meeting attended by different departments including MOFCOM, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State Security and General Administration of Customs (GAC), according to the official website of MOFCOM.

The meeting stressed that all departments should focus on the strategic mineral sector, strengthen source control, form a joint force to focus on combating the smuggling and illegal export of strategic minerals by targeting typical evasion methods such as false reporting, concealment, smuggling, and "third country" transshipments. 

During the meeting, officials agreed that they should speed up the handling and announcement of a number of illegal export cases in accordance with the law, dig deep into the illegal entities and smuggling networks behind the scenes, and strike deeply and thoroughly to form a strong deterrent for criminals.

"Strengthening the export control of strategic mineral resources is related to the national security and development interests of China," according to the meeting. 

On April 4, in a joint announcement, MOFCOM and GAC unveiled export control measures on certain items related to seven types of medium and heavy rare earths, per a notice issued on MOFCOM's official website.

The measures, which took effect immediately, aim to better safeguard national security and interests and fulfill non-proliferation and other international obligations, a MOFCOM spokesperson said in response to a media inquiry on the same day.

On December 3, 2024, China announced measures to tighten controls on the export of relevant dual-use items to the US. Under the new measures, China will prohibit the export of dual-use items to US military users or for military purposes. It will also strictly control the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials as well as graphite-related dual-use items to the US.

The meeting held on Friday said that since China began implementing export controls on strategic minerals such as gallium, germanium, antimony, tungsten, medium and heavy rare earths, some overseas entities have colluded with domestic illegal personnel and have constantly been updating smuggling export methods in an attempt to evade crackdowns.

In order to avoid the illegal outflow of strategic minerals, curb the momentum of smuggling, and effectively safeguard national security while promoting compliant trade and ensuring the stability of the production and supply chain, combating the smuggling of strategic minerals has become an urgent and important task at present, per the meeting. 

Global Times