CHINA will continue to tighten regulation of its rare earths industry while working with other countries to solve a trade dispute over its policies, a spokesman for the nation's industry ministry said yesterday.

On Monday, the World Trade Organization said it would establish a panel to investigate China's export quotas and tariffs on rare earths following complaints by the United States, the European Union and Japan that the restrictions broke global rules as they gave an unfair competitive advantage to China's domestic manufacturers.

Zhu Hongren, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told reporters that China was willing to have discussions and full consultations within the WTO framework to solve the disputes, but the nation would continue to protect its rare earth resources.

"In any case, the Chinese government will surely provide reasonable protection for rare earth resources and ensure environmental protection and sustainable development," he said.

Rare earths are a group of metallic elements vital in the manufacture of an array of high-tech products including missiles, wind turbines, hybrid cars and smart phones.

China has about 23 percent of the world's rare earth reserves but supplies more than 90 percent of the world's demand.

Rampant exploration and mining of rare earths has taken its toll on China's environment, forcing the government to impose production caps and export quotas and stricter environmental rules to reduce environmental damage.

But this has also caused a surge in prices, worrying some overseas manufacturers.

Zhu told reporters that some foreign countries rich in rare earth resources didn't mine their own deposits but instead "groundlessly condemned" China's policies meant to conserve its resources and protect its environment.

"This is not conducive to the rational use of rare earth resources and is not conducive to the development of the rare earth industry," he said.

Meanwhile, Zhu said there were "clear signs" the slowdown in China's industrial output growth had stabilized.

It rose 9.5 percent in June from a year earlier after gaining 10.5 percent in January-June and 13.9 percent last year.

Zhu said that, despite the slowdown, growth had been relatively solid and not low compared with levels of other developed or developing countries.

The slower expansion was in part due to the government's efforts to rebalance the economy - shifting from investment-led growth to consumer spending.

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THE shares of Shandong Gold Mining Co, China's second-biggest gold producer by market value, yesterday jumped the most in almost six weeks in Shanghai trading after its parent announced plans to buy two local gold producers within a year.

Shandong Gold Group agreed to pay 3.75 billion yuan (US$590 million) for 98.5 percent stake in both Shandong Shengda Mining Co and Shandong Tiancheng Mining Co, a price lower than the estimated net assets of the two companies at 3.85 billion yuan, according to the gold miner's statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

According to the statement, both Shengda and Tiancheng have mining and exploration rights for iron ore and gold in several locations.

The shares of the listed unit soared 5.7 percent, the most since April 25, to close at 36.31 yuan yesterday. The stock has gained 27.9 percent so far this year, compared with the Shanghai Composite Index's 5 percent growth.

The unit also plans to invest an additional 200 million yuan of its existing fund on three other mines, it said.

Chinese gold miners are competing for mining resources this year, as the country outshone India in bullion consumption in the first quarter of this year and may become the world's biggest consumer this year, the Gold World Council said in its latest report.

Zhongjin Gold Co, another major gold producer, also planned to bid for the two mining companies, according to its filing statement on April 13.

Shandong Gold's successful bid for the two miners will benefit the Group and extend its peripheral expansion, Xiao Zheng, industry analyst at GF Securities, said in a report.

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