BEIJING (Reuters) -China's Ministry of State Security on Friday said foreign spy agencies had tried to "steal" rare earths and pledged to crack down on infiltration and espionage targeted at its critical mineral sector. Foreign intelligence agencies and their agents had colluded with "domestic lawbreakers" to steal rare earth-related items from China, posing a serious threat to China's national security, the spy agency said in a statement on its WeChat account without naming any specific country. The ministry said it had detected attempts by an unnamed country to bypass export restrictions by forging labels, falsifying cargo manifests and transshipping cargoes, where products are routed through third countries before going to their final destination.