* Rare earth trade should not be made political -Minister
* Says Chinese output down due to environment concerns
* China produces around 90 percent of rare earths
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PARIS, Nov 5 (Reuters) - China will keep up its exports of rare earths next year, Trade Minister Chen Deming said on Friday, adding that trade in the highly sought minerals should not be made into a political issue.
China dominates the production of rare elements used in high-tech devices, batteries and wind turbines, and keeps strict controls on their trade, despite pressure from the United States and Japan to loosen export constraints.
A Chinese decision to slash rare earth export quotas generally has pushed up prices and raised concerns in the West that it could use its supply dominance as a political lever.
"The rare earth issue should not be made political. China will maintain its existing rare earth exports next year," Chen, in Paris accompanying President Hu Jintao's official visit, told reporters.
China produces about 90 percent of the world's output of rare earths, used in lasers, superconductors, computers and other electronics.
Chen said a drop in Chinese rare earth production in recent years was due to measures taken to protect the environment, and rather than criticise China the world should look at alternatives to the minerals, which are a limited resource.
"Today China is paying more attention to environmental protection," Chen said. "Our action is based on environmental concerns, it is not economic or commercial, it is not political."
"We are currently in talks with rare earth consuming countries and coutries with rich rare resources on how to produce rare earth in a more environmentally friendly way and put pressure on countries with richer rare earth resources to start producing," Chen said. "We also need to find new rare earth resources." (Reporting by Kevin Yao and Dan Flynn, editing by Anthony Barker)