BEIJING - China is willing to cooperate with Japan in developing alternatives of rare earth, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said in Beijing Monday.

"At the current pace of rare earth use, it will not take long before the world's reserves go depleted. We hope to work with Japan and other countries to find alternative materials or recycled way of use," Chen told a press conference.

China has tightened the exploration of rare earth, which is a key raw material in producing electrical products but will cause heavy pollution during its development process.

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As the world's largest rare earth producer and exporter, China provides more than 90 percent of global rare earth demand, though its reserves account for only one-third of the world's total.

"China faces huge environmental pressure. We hope other countries could understand our measures to reduce the quota for both domestic and overseas consumers," he said.

China announced its first batch of 2011 rare earth export quotas at 14,446 tons at the end of 2010. The full-year quotas are under discussion.

China exported 35,000 tons of rare earth from January to November last year, up 14.5 percent from a year earlier. Exports to Japan, the European Union and the United States accounted for 86 percent of the total, according to the Ministry of Commerce.