Two decades ago, China entered the rare earths market. Since then China has become the world's largest exporter of these minerals. But there remain two major problems neglected by the Chinese government. The first is the damage their extraction does to the environment. The pollution caused by extracting the rare earths is such a big problem that even the export revenues cannot offset it. The second problem is the smuggling of rare earths. Some illegal organizations exploit these precious resources and sell them at low prices.

Only by establishing strict regulations to protect the environment and severely punishing those who violate the law can the government better manage the rare earths industry.

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(China Daily 05/04/2012 page9)