"He made some very clear indications of how China is going to fulfil its contracts and to work with the international community and will be a reliable supplier," a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity.

Yang "made clear that China did not want a problem on the issues associated with rare earths and was committed to handling this issue responsibly," the official told reporters.

Another US official said earlier that "Clinton sought clarification on the Chinese government's policy on the export of rare earth minerals and received assurances."

Clinton's meeting with Yang took place in Hanoi on the sidelines of the 16-nation East Asia Summit, which the United States is attending for the first time, along with Russia.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that the United States was checking to see whether China was cutting off rare earths exports to US companies but had not reached a conclusion yet.

China recently denied a report in The New York Times that it had halted some rare earth shipments to the United States in response to a US probe into alleged Chinese subsidies for its green technology sector.

Rare earths -- a group of 17 elements -- are used in high-tech products ranging from flat-screen televisions to lasers and hybrid cars, and China controls more than 95 percent of the global market.

China has cut rare earth exports by five to 10 percent a year since 2006 as demand and prices soar.

Tokyo has accused China of restricting rare earths shipments to Japanese firms, amid a bitter spat between Asia's top two economies sparked by a maritime incident in disputed waters in September.

Beijing has previously denied any embargo, but a Japanese trade ministry survey released this month found that all 31 Japanese companies handling rare earths had reported disruption to shipments.

During talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara in Hawaii on Wednesday, Clinton welcomed remarks from Beijing that China will not use its near-global monopoly on the rare earths trade as a "bargaining tool."

However, she said it was important to diversify sources of rare earths supplies and not rely solely on China.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News