Recent moves to strengthen China's rare earth industry regulations are in line with the rules of the WTO, an official said Wednesday.

Strengthening the regulations is intended to protect the environment and promote sustainable development, said Gao Yunhu, deputy chief of the Rare Earth Office under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, at a press conference.

China has given equal treatment to both domestic and foreign firms in the rare earth industry and its regulation of rare earth exports are in compliance with WTO rules, he said.

(Source: Xinhua)