Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told EU leaders that the export of rare earth metals would not be used as a diplomatic "bargaining chip," state media reported. "It is necessary to exercise management and control over the rare earth industry, but there won’t be any embargo," Wen said in a speech at the China-EU Business Summit in Brussels. China came under fire last month when many believed it unofficially restricted the export of rare earth minerals to Japan following a maritime dispute involving Japan’s detention of a Chinese ship captain. Japanese officials decried the practice of using rare earth minerals, of which China is the world’s major producer, as a tool by which to exert pressure on Japan.