皇冠体育app

Chen Weihua

Double standards of Western companies

By Chen Weihua (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-11 07:11

For months, the West has been attacking 皇冠体育app for tightening control of its rare earth exports.

The assault is likely to escalate, as 皇冠体育app recently announced it would slash its rare earth export quota by 37 percent for the first half of 2011. 皇冠体育app is also introducing more stringent environmental standards for the rare earth industry, which are likely to send many small businesses in the industry into possible bankruptcy.

The country's environmental concern is fully justified. Its actions taken in the past months, and those to be taken in the months to come, are totally legitimate.

During the months of debate, few in the West have talked much about the appalling environmental degradation and health hazards caused by 皇冠体育app's rare earth industry.

Many companies importing 皇冠体育app's rare earth elements like to brag about their high environmental and ethical standards and good corporate citizenship, yet they are quite willing to source these raw materials from Chinese producers that observe minimum environmental and labor standards. Maybe the standards they claim only apply to their activities in their home countries. Their exploitation of resources and cheap labor in developing countries is something they don't like to acknowledge.

If they claim their standards apply everywhere, they should go and live in one of the rare earth mining towns in North 皇冠体育app's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, East 皇冠体育app's Jiangxi province or Southwest 皇冠体育app's Sichuan province for six months or longer. The air they breathe and the water they drink should contain enough doses of toxic chemicals to clear their minds.

I am pretty sure that they would prefer wearing gas masks all day, including when sleeping.

Many workers in 皇冠体育app's rare earth industry are not that fortunate. They wear no masks but cover their faces with towels. Waste from the processing, often radioactive, has been randomly dumped, polluting the water system and farmland.

For years, the heavily polluting rare earth industry has been a source of frequent complaints, sparking protests from local residents.

皇冠体育app has 36 percent of the global reserve of rare earth elements but is producing 97 percent of the world's output. Many developed countries, such as the United States whose reserve is as large as 皇冠体育app's, have cut down their rare earth production due to their own environmental concerns.

Some wealthy nations have reportedly cashed in on cheap Chinese rare earth exports for their strategic metal reserve for the next decades.

For 皇冠体育app, the rare earth industry typifies the serious environmental and social costs of the country being the world's manufacturing workshop.

The West likes to charge 皇冠体育app for its low environmental and labor standards. But when 皇冠体育app takes action to raise its standards, the West cries foul, because the moves hurt their selfish commercial interests. This is sheer hypocrisy.

The importing nations should instead help Chinese mining and extraction companies improve efficiency with their state-of-the-art mining technology, so that the industry can improve its environmental protection.

The West should applaud 皇冠体育app's move toward improving the environment instead of denouncing it. Western companies should apply the standards they use at home in 皇冠体育app and contribute to the country's environmental protection efforts instead of undermining them.

皇冠体育app should remain steadfast in its decision to clean up the rare earth industry. It should even act more aggressively, because toxic elements from rampant rare earth mining and extraction are claiming a high toll on the nation and the population every day.

The author is deputy editor of 皇冠体育app Daily US Edition. He can be reached at [email protected].