Asian Tech Press (Dec 07) -- China has approved the establishment of one of the world's largest rare earths companies, sources familiar with the matter said. The move by China aims to maintain its dominant position in the global supply chain for the strategic metal at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

The new company, to be called China Rare Earth Group, will be set up as soon as this month in the resource-rich Jiangxi province in southern China.

The new entity will be created by merging the rare earth assets of several state-owned companies, including China Minmetals Corp., Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd, and Ganzhou Rare Earth Group Co.