Chinese authorities have intensified their crackdown on the smuggling and illegal export of strategic minerals by adopting an zero-tolerance approach, said Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong at a press briefing on Thursday in Beijing.
Chinese authorities announced last week that they will further intensify a campaign to crack down on the smuggling of strategic minerals a meeting held by the office of a national export control work coordination mechanism.
The spokesman provided further details from the meeting.
"Over the past two months, relevant authorities have enhanced collaboration, adopted a zero-tolerance approach and toughened the crackdown on the smuggling and illegal export of strategic minerals. They handled a series of related cases and arrested a number of suspects, sending a strong signal and forming an effective deterrent against smugglers," said He.
He noted that some criminals attempt to evade supervision through various means, increasing the risk of unauthorized transfer of sensitive technologies.
The spokesman emphasized that the situation remains complex and challenging, and vowed more efforts to strengthen ongoing actions.
"We will make unremitting efforts to push for solid progress in the campaign. We will uphold a tough stance, launch thorough investigation, firmly crack down on smuggling and illegal export of strategic minerals, so as to safeguard China's national security and interests," He said.
"According to the meeting, in the next phase, the campaign will mainly focus on establishing a joint enforcement coordination center for export control of dual-use items, releasing a batch of typical law enforcement and judicial cases in a timely manner, and putting foreign entities involved in related violations on export control list. The authorities will issue guidelines for the compliant export of strategic minerals, guiding and issuing alert for exporters to conduct due diligence, and strictly preventing related items from being used by military users or for military purposes," said He.
China taking zero-tolerance approach against strategic minerals smuggling: spokesman
