US: China Must Clarify Rare Earth Exports
Kevin Costner, center, arrives at Federal Court on Thursday, June 14, 2012 in New Orleans. A jury is set to hear closing arguments in the trial for Stephen Baldwin's lawsuit against Costner over their multimillion dollar business dispute in the aftermath of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The lawsuit accuses Costner and Smith of duping Baldwin and friend Spyridon Contogouris over their investments in an oil cleanup device that BP used after the spill. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) / Gerald Herbert
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling on China to clarify its policy on the export of rare earth minerals, exotic metals essential for the success of key high-tech industries.
Speaking at a news conference in Honolulu with Japan's foreign minister, Clinton said recent Chinese restrictions on sales of rare earths served as a "wake-up call" for the international community, which has increasingly relied on China for the production of the minerals.
Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara both called for developed countries to diversify the sources of rare earths, 97 percent of which are controlled by China.
Clinton is in Hawaii, where she is meeting top brass from the U.S. Pacific Command and Japan's foreign minister to discuss regional security issues dominated by an increasingly assertive China.
Clinton arrived in Honolulu on Wednesday at the start of a seven-nation trip to Asia that is aimed at cementing ties with some of China's nervous neighbors. It's part of the Obama administration's efforts to counter Beijing's growing clout in a region where America has traditionally been the dominant power.
Before leaving for Vietnam on Thursday, Clinton will meet with U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Robert Willard, and deliver a speech on America's leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Speaking at a news conference in Honolulu with Japan's foreign minister, Clinton said recent Chinese restrictions on sales of rare earths served as a "wake-up call" for the international community, which has increasingly relied on China for the production of the minerals.
Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara both called for developed countries to diversify the sources of rare earths, 97 percent of which are controlled by China.
Clinton is in Hawaii, where she is meeting top brass from the U.S. Pacific Command and Japan's foreign minister to discuss regional security issues dominated by an increasingly assertive China.
Clinton arrived in Honolulu on Wednesday at the start of a seven-nation trip to Asia that is aimed at cementing ties with some of China's nervous neighbors. It's part of the Obama administration's efforts to counter Beijing's growing clout in a region where America has traditionally been the dominant power.
Before leaving for Vietnam on Thursday, Clinton will meet with U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Robert Willard, and deliver a speech on America's leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region.
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- "US: China Must Clarify Rare Earth Exports"___________"Must", eh? Since when has the US forced China to do anything? Hilarious.
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- If this article doesn't wise America up to the incredible waste of our perpetual wars... then I don't know what will.... Here you have Hillary Clinton... Secretary of State, whose husband, a former U.S. President... refused military service during a time when the government was grabbing poor and working class kids off the street and shipping them off to fight and die in Viet-Nam. - - Well, more than 58,000 of those conscripted Americans never made it out of Viet-Nam alive. "If we don't fight them there... we'll have to fight them here!" Was the cheer from the morons on the sidelines. - - Here we are in 2010. The wife of the draft-dodger is now flying off to Viet-Nam to "Build alliances" against the enemy-of-the-future... red china. If war does come, you can be sure of one thing... It won't be fought by the Bush, Obama, Cheney, Clinton, Wolfowitz, Boehner or Reid families.
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