A special on-site meeting was held on May 9 in Shenzhen of Guangdong Province to combat the smuggling of strategic minerals. The meeting was convened by the national export control work coordination office and joined by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security. According to information from MOFCOM, the special campaign aims to prevent the illegal outflow of strategic minerals, crack down on the smuggling of these critical resources and thereby safeguard national security. 

Minerals such as gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite are listed as national strategic mineral resources for their indispensable and important position in the application of modern technologies. China is a major supplier of these rare metal minerals. For example, China's gallium ore reserves are 190,000 tons, accounting for around 80 percent of the world's total, according to an article published in Beijing-based magazine Scientific and Cultural Popularization of Natural Resources in 2020. With rich strategic mineral resources and advanced mining technologies, China has gradually acquired an international leading position in these fields. However, as mining these strategic minerals causes damage to the environment, while providing these resources to the international community, China must also invest more energy and resources into restoring the ecosystems of the mined areas.

The U.S. and other Western countries have taken several suppression measures in recent years, including putting some Chinese firms on sanction lists and unjustly restricting the export of some products to China, which has led the country to use export control as a countermeasure. Considering its national strategic security, the need for ecological protection and these suppression measures, China imposed export controls on gallium and germanium, as well as related technologies, on August 1, 2023. In August 2024 and this February, it announced export controls on more metal minerals such as tungsten, tellurium and bismuth, as well as related products. Export operators who export without permission, beyond the permitted scope or are engaged in other illegal activities will be subject to administrative penalties or criminal responsibilities in accordance with law.

However, since the export control measures were implemented, some foreign entities have, colluding with domestic lawbreakers, attempted to circumvent export control measures through smuggling and other means. In response, the related departments have organized an international campaign to crack down on the smuggling of strategic minerals, taking swift action targeting fraudulent reporting, smuggling, third-country transshipments and other related illegal activities. Through interdepartmental investigation and more rigorous inspections to uncover the illicit networks and entities behind these schemes, China will make its export control law enforcement more effective and safeguard its national security development interests.

In the current context, where global multilateral trade is affected by the U.S. "reciprocal tariffs" and attempts at technological containment of China, this campaign against the smuggling of strategic minerals is of great importance. Strategic mineral resources play an indispensable role in maintaining the country's economic security and national defense. The illegal export of strategic minerals may lead to resource shortages in related domestic industries and affect the steady development of these industries. Cracking down on smuggling is conducive to maintaining domestic market order, ensuring the normal operation of related industries and thereby safeguarding national economic security.

Some misguided comments on the Internet claim that China's export controls on strategic minerals encourage smuggling. This is a wrong understanding. Export control on strategic minerals is a normal practice in global trade, and the U.S., Europe, Japan and other countries also have their respective lists of critical minerals. It is even more inappropriate to excuse these smuggling activities, as compliance with law and regulations should be an established norm in modern international multilateral trade.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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