Japan’s government has suggested Chinese officials may have violated global trade rules by blocking shipments of strategically important minerals to Japan amid a dispute over Tokyo’s detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain.
Akihiro Ohata, ministry of economy, trade and industry, said Japanese importers had told his ministry that shipments of so-called rare earth metals had been intentionally held up at Chinese ports. China is the source for about 97 per cent of rare earths, which are crucial to the manufacture of high-tech products from video cameras to wind turbines.
“We have received information that the Chinese commerce ministry has directed that new contracts and shipments of rare earths to Japan be suspended, and that the ministry’s export licence system has been closed to new applications,” Mr Ohata said.