China, Malaysia in talks for rare earths refinery project

China and Malaysia are in early talks for a project to process rare earths, with sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional likely to partner with a Chinese state-owned firm to build a refinery in the Southeast Asian nation, people familiar with the matter said. 

Why it matters

If the joint venture takes shape, it would represent a significant policy departure for China, the world’s top supplier and refiner of rare earths, which has banned export of its processing technology to protect its dominance of the industry.