China's export control on rare earths and key minerals is entirely justified, reasonable, and legal, as it aims to curb Japan's attempts at remilitarization and nuclear armament, Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
China has added 20 Japanese entities to the export control list and another 20 Japanese entities to the watch list, He said.
"The Chinese government conducts export control on rare earths and other critical minerals, and reviews license applications that are compliant and for civilian use in accordance with the law and regulations. The China-Japan relations are at a grave hard time, and its root cause lies in the erroneous remarks and deeds made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and the responsibility is entirely on the Japanese side. We urge the Japanese side to face up to the root cause of the issue, do soul-searching, correct its wrongdoings, and create necessary conditions for normal exchanges between China and Japan," said He.
Commerce Ministry spokesman on rare earth export control against Japan
As the diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran continues despite a faltering ceasefire, a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran is prepared to use military power to break the U.S. maritime blockade should the negotiations collapse or run on too long.
Mohsen Rezaee, who also currently serves as a member of the Iranian Expediency Discernment Council, struck a confident tone about Iran's current trajectory in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Tehran on Wednesday.
He said the country has withstood over two decades of crippling sanctions and continued to move forward.
"We have been under sanctions for more than 20 years. The number of sanctions likely exceeds 2,000, targeting individuals, enterprises, corporations, ships, insurance companies, and even foreign countries that interacted with us. However, we have managed to find solutions to neutralize these sanctions, and we will continue to do so moving forward," he said.
He said Iran aims to ease the sanctions burden through talks with the U.S., although at the same time, he said, Iran is ready to shift to a military response if the path to a peaceful resolution closes.
"Furthermore, we will compel the U.S. to lift these sanctions. We will force the U.S. to end the maritime blockade -- either through negotiations or, should they resist, through direct action and we will attack U.S. warships. Therefore, despite all the pressures, the future of our economy is bright and promising, while the future of the US economy is bleak," he said.
While any new war against Iran would be a dead end, the best way out for the U.S. is to continue talks, according to the senior official.
"We have prepared ourselves so that if the maritime blockade continues beyond a certain timeframe, we will launch an attack and break the blockade. The Americans have no choice but to negotiate. Continuing this war is a journey into a very dark tunnel for the United States. The more America chooses to fight, the deeper it enters a tunnel with no end. Yet for us, the path is perfectly clear. America is moving toward us in the dark, while we are monitoring their every move," he said.
Former IRGC chief says Iran ready to break U.S. naval blockade by force if talks fail
