BEIJING - China will continuously optimize licensing procedures and decrease review time in the implementation of its latest rare earth export controls, and will actively consider facilitation measures to promote legitimate trade effectively, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The recent export control measures are a normal effort the Chinese government has made to improve China's export control system in accordance with laws and regulations, and are not targeted at any specific country or region, according to spokesperson for the ministry He Yongqian.

"All applications for compliant exports intended for civil use will be approved," she said at a press conference.

She noted that the controls constitute a legitimate practice designed to prevent the illegal use of rare earths, such as use in weapons of mass destruction, thereby safeguarding China's national security and global common security.

China had notified relevant countries and regions prior to announcing these export control measures, and is now in communication with relevant parties on their facilitation, according to the spokesperson.

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She said that China expresses its strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to a series of restrictive measures that the United States has taken, including its recent announcement of a new rule that expands its "entity-list" export restrictions, as well as a measure to impose additional port fees on Chinese ships following a Section 301 investigation. China urges the US to immediately correct its erroneous practices, she added.

She noted that the Section 301 investigation and restrictive measures targeting China's shipbuilding sector, among other industries, are textbook examples of unilateralist and protectionist practices. These actions will not only undermine the interests of China's relevant industries, but also drive up domestic inflation in the United States, undermining the competitiveness of US ports and harming US employment.

Such measures have disrupted global supply chain stability and brought chaos to the international shipping industry, He said, stressing that China's corresponding countermeasures are defensive actions taken out of necessity and aimed at safeguarding a level playing field in the global shipping and shipbuilding markets.

She said that after the Madrid economic and trade talks between China and the United States, the US side, disregarding China's repeated dissuasion, introduced 20 measures to suppress China in just over 20 days, seriously damaging China's interests and disrupting the atmosphere of the economic and trade talks between the two sides.

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She pointed out that China is strongly dissatisfied with the series of measures taken by the US side and firmly opposes them. It is hoped that the US side will cherish the achievements of the economic and trade talks and immediately correct its wrong practices. China is willing to properly address each other's concerns through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect with the US side.