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China's spy agency targets foreign attempts to "steal" rare earths

China's spy agency targets foreign attempts to "steal" rare earths

China's Ministry of State Security said Friday that foreign spy agencies have tried to "steal", rare earths. It also pledged to crackdown on infiltration and espionage targeting its vital mineral sector.

The spy agency claimed that foreign intelligence agencies and their agents colluded with domestic lawbreakers to steal rare earth items from China. This posed a serious risk to China's security.

The ministry reported that it had discovered attempts by an unknown country to circumvent export restrictions through forging labels, falsifying manifests and transshipping, which involves products being routed via third countries to their final destination.

Exclusively this month, it was reported that large amounts of antimony (a metal used to make batteries, chips and fire retardants) appeared to have been shipped into the United States through Thailand and Mexico following China's ban on U.S. exports.

In retaliation to U.S. Tariffs, China added several rare-earth magnets and other related products to its export restrictions list early in April.

Due to shortages, some automakers outside China were forced to temporarily suspend production.

China's rare-earths exports increased 32% from the previous month in June, a sign that the agreements made between Washington and Beijing last month to open up the flow of metals have been successful.

Nvidia’s plan to resume sales of its H20 AI chip in China was part the rare earth talks. (Reporting and editing by Kate Mayberry in Beijing)

(source: Reuters)