China resumes export of rare earths
OCT 28, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.024786
New York Times : Chinese shipments of lanthanum, neodymium, and other rare-earth elements appear to have restarted, reports Keith Bradsher of the New York Times. In a show of strength that lacked an officially avowed motive, the Chinese government had blocked the export of the industrially important minerals to Japan on 21 September and to Europe and the US on 18 October. Although the Chinese gave no explanation for the resumption, Bradsher noted that
The decision came a day and a half after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced plans to visit China on Saturday. She met on Wednesday in Honolulu with Japan’s foreign minister, Seiji Maehara, and said afterward that the suspension of shipments had been a “wake-up call” and that both countries would have to find alternative suppliers.
© 2010. American Institute of Physics