China says it stopped rare-earth smuggling by foreign spy agency
YUKIO TAJIMA
BEIJING -- China's anti-spying ministry has prevented the illegal export of rare-earth metals involving a foreign intelligence agency, it announced Friday, adding the foreign agency had partnered with illegal operators within China in an attempt to smuggle out the resources by deceptive mislabeling and mixing the elements with other materials.
The Ministry of State Security, charged with rooting out espionage in the country, posted on its official WeChat account that the foreign intelligence agency had made attempts in recent years to collude with illegal actors within the country to steal rare earths through the country's postal system, calling the action a critical threat to state security.
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