CHINA’S top economic planner said Tuesday that the country is willing to continue supplying rare-earth metals to world markets but is opposed to those who use products made with such rare earths to “suppress and dampen China’s development.”

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the planner, also said that the industries of China and the United States are highly complementary. Cooperation will benefit both countries while confrontation will only undermine their interests, it said.

The NDRC said in the recent media interview that China will adhere to the principle of fair and free trade in its management of rare-earth exports, but “the Chinese people will be unhappy” if the country’s exported rare-earth metals are used against China.

Since the start of the China-U.S. trade friction more than a year ago, Washington has taken many measures, including taking advantage of its edge in high-end chip making, to stymie Chinese high-tech firms, the NDRC said.

The NDRC added that in its latest move to dampen China’s industrial development, the U.S. Government has used an executive order to effectively ban products of Chinese tech giant Huawei from being used in the U.S., which has been widely seen as unreasonable and unfair.

China produces a majority of the world’s rare earths, chemical elements that have magnetic and luminescent properties and are used in a range of consumer products and electronics.

While rarely heard, the rare earth elements are the materials that help light up your smartphone, make X-rays possible and ensure the safe use of nuclear reactors.

As the world’s biggest supplier of such materials, China has always been upholding the principles of openness, coordination and sharing in developing its rare earth industry.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, from 2014 to 2017 the United States imported 80 percent of its rare earth compounds and metals from China. (SD-Agencies)