Ministry of Commerce: Implementing Full-Chain Control to Strictly Prevent Illegal Outflow of Strategic Minerals

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce answered questions from reporters regarding the implementation of strengthened whole-chain management and control over the export of strategic minerals.

Q: We have noticed that the Office of the National Export Control Coordination Mechanism recently deployed the implementation of strengthened whole-chain management and control over the export of strategic minerals. What considerations are behind this whole-chain management and control? What key tasks will be carried out subsequently?

A: The export control of strategic minerals is crucial to national security and development interests. To prevent the illegal outflow of strategic minerals, it is necessary to strengthen management and control over all links in the production and supply chain. On May 12, the Office of the National Export Control Coordination Mechanism held a special meeting in Changsha, Hunan Province, to comprehensively deploy the work to 10 departments, including the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as well as local authorities in seven provinces, including Inner Mongolia and Jiangxi.

To effectively prevent the illegal outflow of strategic minerals, management and control over the whole chain, from mining, smelting, processing, transportation, manufacturing, sales, to export, must be strengthened, starting from the source. All departments need to divide the work and collaborate, implement daily supervision, and promptly identify risks and hidden dangers. Those who take risks and commit crimes despite warnings will be investigated and punished one by one as they are discovered. Local authorities must fulfill their local regulatory responsibilities, comprehensively survey relevant business entities in their regions, grasp the production, operation, and flow of strategic minerals, guide local enterprises to enhance their awareness and capabilities of compliance, and ensure the effective implementation of strategic mineral management and control measures.

All departments believe that implementing whole-chain management and control over strategic minerals is of utmost importance. They will fulfill their regulatory and law enforcement responsibilities in accordance with their respective divisions of labor, continuously improve the information traceability and normalized management mechanisms, ensure that there are no gaps, blind spots, or omissions in the management and control of each link, strictly punish illegal and non-compliant cases, and continuously strengthen the deterrent effect of supervision and law enforcement. Relevant local authorities will accelerate the registration and ledger recording of enterprises related to strategic minerals in their regions and ensure the effective implementation of management and control measures through ongoing efforts such as promoting export control policies, providing export risk warnings, and conducting supervision and inspections, so as to effectively safeguard national security and development interests.