Related: China Sets First Round of 2011 Rare Earth Export Quotas
China will have more say on rare earth prices as the country's 93 major rare earth-related enterprises move to establish an industry association, the First Financial Daily reports.
The association, expected to form in May 2011, will seek to exert its influence on the price and export of rare earth products, Wang Caifeng told the newspaper on the sidelines of an industry forum on Tuesday.
Wang, a former official in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is to be a senior engineer for the organization.
Rare earth, a class of 17 rare chemical elements, is becoming increasingly important for the manufacture of high-tech products such as flat-screen monitors, missiles and aerospace alloys.
China has a considerable percentage of the world's rare earth reserves and products. However, since rare earth mining causes damage to the environment, China is tightening control on the industry.
A draft guideline announced by the government in September aimed to cut the number of rare earth firms from the current 90 to 20 by 2015.
