China to normalize stagnant rare earth exports to Japan soon:Ohata +

YOKOHAMA, Nov. 13 Kyodo -
China said it will ''appropriately settle soon'' Tokyo's concerns over stagnant
Chinese rare earth exports to Japan, noting it has ordered related bodies to
resolve the matter, Japanese trade minister Akihiro Ohata said Saturday.
Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zhang Ping made the
comments in response to Ohata's call during their talks for an early resolution
of the issue, which emerged after bilateral ties were soured by a ship
collision incident in September near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East
China Sea.
Zhang explained that toughened controls on the resource vital for high-tech
products are intended to enable ''orderly development'' and ''sustainable
usage'' of the rare earths, according to the Japanese economy, trade and
industry minister.
The Chinese official also said he ''understands that Japan is showing interest
in the stalled shipments at customs,'' Ohata said.
China has denied imposing an embargo on exports of the resources to Japan, but
said that it has reinforced customs inspections for such reasons as to
''counter smuggling.''
China accounts for about 97 percent of the world's rare earths supply and Japan
is almost 90 percent dependent on China, according to the Japanese trade and
industry ministry.
Ohata met Zhang on the sidelines of the two-day summit meeting of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that started Saturday in Yokohama.
==Kyodo