China starts stockpiling rare earths: AP report

SHANGHAI — China has started stockpiling rare earths for strategic reserves, a state-backed newspaper said Thursday, in a move that may raise more worries over Beijing’s control of the coveted resources.
China has already started the purchase — using state funds — and storage of rare earths for strategic reserves, the China Securities Journal said, but did not specify exactly when the initiative was launched.
“This is China’s start of work for state strategic buying and storage of rare earths,” the newspaper said.
The country produces more than 90 percent of the world’s rare earths, which are used in high-tech equipment ranging from iPods to missiles, and it has set production caps and export quotas on them.

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