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Empresas y finanzas

China to "streamline" rare earth industry: Premier Wen


    BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans to "streamline" its rare earth industry within five years, state media on Wednesday quoted Premier Wen Jiabao as telling a cabinet meeting.

    The brief report by the official Xinhua news agency provided no further details.

    China, which produces about 97 percent of the global supply of the vital metals, cut its export quotas by 35 percent for the first half of 2011 versus a year earlier, saying it wanted to conserve reserves and protect the environment.

    (Reporting by Chris Buckley and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ken Wills)