【英语中国】中国欲掌握稀土定价话语权

Two of China's largest state-owned miners of rare earths announced they will launch a new unified pricing system, a reminder of the Chinese government's promise to curb supply of the strategic resource.

According to a report in Tuesday's state-run China Daily, Baotou Steel Rare Earth High-Tech Co. and Jiangxi Copper Corp. (600362.SH) will soon control prices across virtually all of the market for light rare earths. The move appears to be good news for China, as the country will have greater say in the short term over how its rare earths are used and how much foreign companies will pay for them. The country supplies more than 95% of the world's rare-earth oxides.

'Enhancing the concentration of the rare-earth sector will benefit the Chinese side and give it a bigger say in global markets,' said Yu Zongsen, former secretary-general of the Chinese Society of Rare Earths, according to China Daily.

For the rest of the world, the move almost certainly means the prices of rare earths will continue to rise. China Daily reported that the price of some rare earths has risen 60% since the end of last year. The moves could be further incentive for companies outside China to develop alternative rare-earth mining operations.

After all, the term 'rare earths' is a misnomer, experts say. The minerals are actually quite abundant, Matthew James, vice president of corporate and business development for Australia's Lynas Corp., told China Real Time in June. 'What is very rare is to find economic concentrations of them,' he said.

That is exactly what companies around the world are more aggressively searching for as the Chinese government reduces export quotas and works to consolidate the industry. Beyond temporary price jumps as a result of limited Chinese supply, what remains to be seen is to what extent tighter price controls by China will present an opportunity for foreign firms to explore deposits elsewhere and determine whether China's supplies in the long term really are the cheapest and most abundant.

Reuters湖北某煤矿里，工人正在挑出煤渣。
中国两家最大的国有稀土矿商宣布将发布新的统一定价系统，这让人回想起中国政府之前有关要限制这种战略资源供应的承诺。

据官方媒体《中国日报》周二的报导，内蒙古包钢稀土（集团）高科技股份有限公司与江西铜业股份有限公司不久将控制几乎所有轻稀土市场的价格。此举对中国来说似乎是好消息，因中国短期内将对其稀土资源的使用和外国公司购买稀土的价格拥有更大话语权。中国供应着全球逾95%的稀土氧化物。

《中国日报》的报导说，中国稀土学会前秘书长余宗森说，强化稀土行业的集中将对中国一方有利，并令中国在全球市场拥有更大话语权。

对于全球其他国家来说，这一举动几乎肯定意味着稀土价格将继续上涨。《中国日报》报道说，一些稀土的价格自去年年底以来已上涨60%。这种情况将进一步推动中国以外的公司开发替代性的稀土矿。

专家说，毕竟“稀土”这个术语就不恰当。澳大利亚稀土矿产商Lynas Corp.负责公司及业务开发的副总裁詹姆斯(Matthew James)6月接受“中国实时报”栏目采访时说，这些矿产其实相当丰富，真正罕见的是找到具有经济价值的集中度。

随着中国政府减少出口配额、致力于整合稀土行业，全球的公司也正展开更积极的探索。除了可以预见到中国限制供应暂时会造成价格上涨，中国实施价格控制将在多大程度上成为外国公司在其他地方探测储量的契机，以及确定中国的供应从长远看是否真的是最低廉、最丰厚的，这一切还有待观察。