rare earth Photo:VCG

"China's announcement of export control measures on rare earths and related items is a legitimate action by the Chinese government to refine its export control system in accordance with laws and regulations," a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Sunday, in response to a question over the China's considerations with the Thursday announcement on imposing export control measures on related rare earth items.

In the context of turmoil and frequent military conflicts in the world, China has taken note of the important uses of medium and heavy rare earths and related items in the military field. China, as a responsible major country, employs export controls on related items according to the law, in order to better defend world peace and regional stability, and to fulfill non-proliferation and other international obligations, the spokesperson said.

"China's export controls are not export bans. Licenses will be granted for eligible applications. Before the measures were announced, China had already notified relevant countries and regions through bilateral export control dialogue mechanisms. China stands ready to work with the rest of the world to step up export control dialogue and exchange, so as to better safeguard the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains," the spokesperson said.

In a separate response to a question regarding follow-up measures of implementation, the spokesperson said "As a responsible major country, China always firmly safeguards its national security and international common security, always takes a just and reasonable principled position and implements export control measures in a prudential and moderate manner."

China had made thorough assessment of the measures' possible impact on industrial and supply chains in advance and is certain that related impact is very limited. Before announcing the measures, China had notified relevant countries and regions through bilateral export control dialogue mechanisms, the spokesperson said.

Going forward, the Chinese government will conduct reviews in accordance with laws and regulations, grant licenses to eligible applications, as well as actively considering the applicability of facilitation measures such as general licenses and license exemptions to effectively promote legitimate trade, the spokesperson said.

"I want to emphasize that China's export controls are not export bans. All applications of compliant export for civil use can get approval, so that relevant businesses have no need to worry. The Chinese government will work with all countries as always, to firmly safeguard world peace and stability in neighboring regions, and jointly maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains," spokesperson said.