China offers rewards for reporting rare earth export control violations

Beijing is sharpening the tools it uses to police rare earth and other strategic mineral exports, announcing fresh measures that will reward companies and individuals for reporting suspected violations.

The announcement came on Wednesday, the same day Tokyo confirmed that two of its nationals had been detained in China over alleged attempts to smuggle rare earth-related goods out of the country.

“Any organisation or individual has the right to report conduct suspected of violating relevant laws and regulations in the export of dual-use strategic mineral items,” the Ministry of Commerce said.

The goal of the new measures, which come into effect on July 1, would be to strengthen oversight in Beijing’s efforts to “combat” violations and irregularities, it added.

The ministry promised a reward for reports confirmed to be true and encouraged export entities to take the initiative if they suspected any violations. “Self-disclosure will be taken into account as a factor in granting a lighter or mitigated penalty for the relevant violations or irregularities,” it said.

The announcement listed more than a dozen violations, including exports without the required licences, attempts to circumvent restrictions and the illegal transfer of strategic-mineral-related technologies abroad through intellectual property licensing, investment and other channels.

The measures would also extend to those who knowingly provide services to individuals or firms that unlawfully export controlled minerals.