Smuggling is another aspect of China's rare earth mining industry that is often mentioned in news reports. However, the real numbers and figures behind the phenomenon are rarely mentioned in these reports.
Some media reports state that smuggling siphons off about one-third of the total volume of rare earth metals leaving China each year.
The highest estimate comes from Wang Caifeng, a senior rare earth mining expert. He puts the ratio at more than half.
Analysts have said that smuggling is on the rise because of high returns for smugglers, as the Chinese government continues to tighten export regulations for rare earth metals.
Chinese customs have uncovered several illegal rare earth smuggling cases over the past few years. One major case involved a shipment of 4,196 metric tons of rare earth metals valued at 10.9 billion yuan.
Lin Donglu, secretary general of the Chinese Rare Earth Society, said that the total volume of rare earth metals smuggled by using false product names and remote declarations is probably "remarkable."
Smugglers can use many tricks to bypass China's export controls, including using false names, creating fictitious customs paperwork or by taking advantage of policy loopholes, said Chen Guiyuan, deputy director of the Hohhot customs bureau in north China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.
According to Chen, shipments of rare earth metals are marked by smugglers as being iron oxide, marble or other materials that are unidentifiable in appearance, allowing them to skirt export regulations.
Analysts said that China has strictly banned foreign companies from rare earth mining, but there are currently no restrictions on exporting alloys, which may contain rare earth metals.
To get past the government regulations, some foreign companies are investing in their own rare earth metal processing centers in China, aiming to obtain more of the metals at a cheaper price, Chen said.
The government has been working since 2006 to tighten exports of rare earth resources and announce annual export quotas. Last month, the government vowed to crack down on the smuggling of rare earth metals and impose quotas for exports of rare earth alloys.
In an email to Xinhua, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that China's rare earth campaign aims to protect the environment and ensure the sustainable utilization of the country's resources.
"These policies are in line with common international practices and the rules of the World Trade Organization," it said. "They have been created out of a sense of responsibility not only for China's own development, but also the development of the world."
Some media reports state that smuggling siphons off about one-third of the total volume of rare earth metals leaving China each year.
The highest estimate comes from Wang Caifeng, a senior rare earth mining expert. He puts the ratio at more than half.
Analysts have said that smuggling is on the rise because of high returns for smugglers, as the Chinese government continues to tighten export regulations for rare earth metals.
Chinese customs have uncovered several illegal rare earth smuggling cases over the past few years. One major case involved a shipment of 4,196 metric tons of rare earth metals valued at 10.9 billion yuan.
Lin Donglu, secretary general of the Chinese Rare Earth Society, said that the total volume of rare earth metals smuggled by using false product names and remote declarations is probably "remarkable."
Smugglers can use many tricks to bypass China's export controls, including using false names, creating fictitious customs paperwork or by taking advantage of policy loopholes, said Chen Guiyuan, deputy director of the Hohhot customs bureau in north China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.
According to Chen, shipments of rare earth metals are marked by smugglers as being iron oxide, marble or other materials that are unidentifiable in appearance, allowing them to skirt export regulations.
Analysts said that China has strictly banned foreign companies from rare earth mining, but there are currently no restrictions on exporting alloys, which may contain rare earth metals.
To get past the government regulations, some foreign companies are investing in their own rare earth metal processing centers in China, aiming to obtain more of the metals at a cheaper price, Chen said.
The government has been working since 2006 to tighten exports of rare earth resources and announce annual export quotas. Last month, the government vowed to crack down on the smuggling of rare earth metals and impose quotas for exports of rare earth alloys.
In an email to Xinhua, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that China's rare earth campaign aims to protect the environment and ensure the sustainable utilization of the country's resources.
"These policies are in line with common international practices and the rules of the World Trade Organization," it said. "They have been created out of a sense of responsibility not only for China's own development, but also the development of the world."
