China sets up rare earth association to streamline sector's development

Beijing, April 9 (ANI): China has reportedly set up a rare earth association in order to streamline the sector's development.

According to Xinhua, the association will have 155 members, including some of the biggest producers of rare earths.

The members would report to the Ministry of Industry and Technology, which regulates production of these elements.

China, which produces over 95 percent of the world's rare earth elements, has been accused of pushing up rare earth prices by limiting their exports.

These rare elements are mostly used for producing various high-tech products like DVDs, mobile phones, flatscreen TVs and hybrid batteries.

Last month, the US, Japan and the European Union filed a case at the World Trade Organization, challenging China's restrictions, The BBC reports.

China's trading partners have alleged that Beijing has been trying to exploit its position of the world's biggest producer of rare earth elements to benefit its domestic manufacturers.

China has, however, denied these allegations and said that it imposed the restrictions to ensure that excessive mining of these elements did not cause environmental damage. (ANI)