BEIJING, Oct 15 (Reuters) - China has restricted its exports of rare earth metals in order to protect its environment and will not specifically block exports to Japan, a commerce ministry spokesman said on Friday.
Yao Jian was speaking at a regular briefing after reports that China had slapped a de facto ban on rare earth metal exports to Japan last month after a territorial dispute in the East China Sea.
China is the world's biggest producer of rare earth minerals, vital for Japan's auto and electronics industries. (Reporting by Aileen Wang and Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Ken Wills)