Chen Jianwei, executive deputy director of the State Office for Management of Imports and Exports of Endangered Species, said recent media reports that China had relaxed the 12-year-old prohibition were "irresponsible."

"There has never been any loosening of the ban since its inception. No commercial activity involving tusk and ivory imports is permitted," said Chen.

Nearly 300 smuggling cases have been detected and almost 30 tons of tusk and ivory products destined for China seized in the past five years.

A handful of news media took advantage of the rise in smuggling cases as a sign of China's readiness to accept international trade in elephant tusks and ivory.

"These irresponsible stories have stirred strong concerns at home and abroad, positioning China as the bad guy in the international community, especially among environmental activists," said Fan Zhiyong, a key researcher on the ivory trade in China, yesterday.

East Asia has historically been a major importer of African ivory tusks, which are used in elaborate art works and have spawned a growing processing industry.

In China, the practice dated back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and was internationally famous.

Later, however, growing environmental awareness in China prompted the central government to sign the Covenant on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1981.

Part of the covenant protected elephants from poachers looking to profit from the ivory trade.

The sale of ivory was prohibited worldwide in 1989 after the African elephant population fell to 600,000 from 1.2 million in just over a decade.

The Chinese Government banned all imports and exports of ivory tusks and its products in 1991 and penalties, ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment and even capital punishment, were imposed for violations of the law.

However, Fan told China Daily yesterday that the highly lucrative trade had spawned an expanding black market in the past few years, driven by the nouveau riche, a revival in the ivory processing industry and a deep-rooted Chinese love affair with ivory items.

China's growing contact with African nations has also contributed to the black market, as more Chinese migrant workers, labor-export companies and traders head to the continent for jobs and fortunes.

They have taken advantage of regulatory loopholes in African nations and the global convention to buy ivory tusks and products in Africa at very low prices and attempted to sell their booty on the black market.

(China Daily January 7, 2003)