中国放弃大规模开采稀土

A two-day seminar on raw materials wrapped up in Xiamen on Tuesday. During the event, China's Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology announced the country would be taking a new, more sustainable stance towards the exploitation of rare earth.
为期两天的原材料工业座谈会在厦门圆满结束。活动期间，中国工业和信息化部副部长宣布，中国将对稀土开采采取一种新的、更加可持续的态度。

China will abandon large scale mining of rare earth in order to promote sustainability and avoid resource wastage. That’s according to Su Bo, China’s Vice Minister of Industry and IT, speaking at an industry seminar in Xiamen.
为了促进可持续、避免资源浪费，中国将停止大规模的稀土开采。这是中国工业和信息化部副部长苏波在厦门举行产业研讨会上讲到的。

The statement comes at a critical time for the rare earth industry, following the filing of a joint WTO complaint by the U.S, EU and Japan. Unsurprisingly, the Vice Minister says China objects to the dispute - and that its export quota for rare earth is set with regard to environmental factors and the path to sustainable growth.
该声明是在稀土工业的关键时刻发布的，紧随着美国、欧盟和日本向世贸组织提起联合诉讼。自然地，这位副部长表示，中国反对这次纠纷，中国稀土的出口配额是根据环境因素和可持续发展道路确定的。

Rare earth minerals are critical to the high-tech industry, used in everything from missile systems to smartphones to electric cars. But the Vice Minister says, it’s the market - and not the government - that determines pricing for the coveted minerals.
稀土矿产品对高科技产业来说是至关重要的，从导航系统到智能手机再到电动汽车都要用到。但是副部长表示，是市场而不是政府决定这些令人垂涎的矿产品的价格。

Su Bo said: "We have never asked any company to set the price we want. Prices of over 97 percent of our rare earth products are market oriented."
苏波称：“我们从没有要求任何公司设定我们想要的价格。我们超过97%的稀土产品的价格是以市场为导向的。”

Su Bo also warned, the over-exploitation of rare earth has taken a toll on the local environment - and that the environmental costs far exceed the profits of rare earth.
苏波还提醒，过度开采稀土给当地环境带来损害——环境成本远远超过稀土的利润。

Su said: "Rational exploitation of rare earth should meet environmental standards, and follow a sustainable growth path, not large-scale mining activities. Improper exploitation will also undermine the value of rare earth. "
苏波表示：“合理开采稀土应该达到环境标准，遵循可持续发展道路，而不是大规模的开采活动。不当的开采还会削弱稀土的价值。”

To curb undesirable mining activities, China suspended the issuance of new licenses for the sector’s prospecting and mining, imposed production caps and export quotas, and announced tougher environment standards for rare earth production. The country produces more than 95 percent of global rare earth supplies, with reserves that account for around 36 percent of the world’s total.
为了遏制不合要求的开采行为，中国停止颁发新的部门勘探采矿许可证，强加产量上限和进口配额，公布更严格的稀土生产的环境标准。中国出产全球95%以上的稀土，稀土储量占全球总量的36%左右。