HANOI, Vietnam, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department said China has pledged not to use rare earth mineral exports as economic or diplomatic leverage against other countries.
China is widely believed to have halted exports of various minerals critical to production of electronic devices after Japan detained a Chinese fishing boat captain, alleging the captain had rammed his boat into a Japanese coast guard vessel near the Senkaku Islands.
Control of the islands is in dispute, The Washington Post reported Saturday. As a sidebar to a summit meeting among 18 Asian nations in Hanoi, China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi gave Secretary of State Hillary Clinton his "assurances" that China would continue exports of rare minerals, a market that China controls, producing 97 percent of the world's supply.
"Foreign Minister Yang clarified that China has no intention of withholding these minerals," Clinton said after their meeting, Xinhua reported.
But China also expressed "deep dissatisfaction" with Clinton's view on the Senkaku Islands.
After meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara in Hawaii Wednesday, Clinton said the islands were covered within a Japanese-U.S. security agreement.
UPI
