To further advance the special campaign to crack down on illegal and non-compliant activities involving rare earths, 2017 Year 5 Moon 9 On [date], the Raw Materials Industry Division (Rare Earth Office) of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology organized a meeting of liaison officers for the inter-ministerial coordination mechanism on rare metals. Representatives from relevant departments and bureaus of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the State Administration of Work Safety attended the meeting.

　　The meeting reported on the progress of the special campaign to crack down on illegal and non-compliant activities related to rare earths. 2016 Year 11 Following the issuance of the “Letter Requesting the Organization of a Special Campaign to Crack Down on Illegal and Non-compliant Activities Involving Rare Earths,” jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology together with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Public Security, and other relevant departments, 23 The people's governments of various provinces (and autonomous regions) have organized relevant departments to conduct comprehensive inspections of rare-earth mining, smelting and separation, comprehensive utilization, and trading enterprises within their jurisdictions, examining all types of enterprises. 415 Home, found out 61 The leads regarding violations of laws and regulations have been handled in accordance with the law. 23 Home, another 38 The rectification efforts are currently underway. During this period, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, has organized news media and experts to conduct on-site inspections at rare-earth enterprises in provinces and autonomous regions including Guangdong, Hebei, Henan, and Shandong. Regarding the issues identified during these inspections, local authorities have been urged to promptly verify and address them. The meeting analyzed several prominent problems encountered during the rectification process, including inadequate implementation of responsibilities by local governments, insufficiently thorough and accurate inspections, inaccurate interpretation of policies, and inadequate handling of cases. Relevant countermeasures were also discussed and formulated. Personnel from the relevant departments stated that they will further intensify coordination and collaboration, adopt a problem-oriented approach to deepen the special rectification efforts, jointly impose sanctions on enterprises found violating laws and regulations, and hold accountable those units and individuals who fail to fulfill their regulatory duties as required by the rectification plan. Moving forward, the relevant departments will establish inspection teams to carry out supervisory checks in the affected provinces and autonomous regions.

　　Thanks to the earlier efforts to rectify order in the rare-earth industry, the production and business situation in the sector has improved. 2017 Year 1 – 3 In the month, the rare earth industry achieved year-on-year growth in its main business revenue. 21% ; Achieve year-on-year profit growth 29% As of 4 At the end of the month, the prices of products such as lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, and terbium oxide increased year-on-year by: 35 %, 5 %, 31 %.