• China's combined wind and solar installed capacity is projected to exceed 1.8 TW by the end of 2025.
• Renewables are expected to represent 47.3% of the total capacity, surpassing thermal power by approximately 300 GW.
• Solar accounts for 30.8% of the installed capacity, but its actual electricity generation share is lower (~14%) due to intermittency and capacity factors.
• China's massive renewable deployment creates competitive advantages through:
  • Lower costs
  • Industrial learning
  • Supplier clustering
  • Export potential for manufacturers

China’s renewable buildout hit another milestone (opens in a new tab): combined wind and solar installed capacity exceeded 1.8 terawatts (1,840 GW) for the first time, according to China’s National Energy Administration and reporting by People’s Daily. By end-2025, China’s total installed generation capacity reached 3.89 TW (+16.1% YoY), with solar at 1.20 TW (+35.4%) and wind at 0.64 TW (+22.9%). Wind+solar now represent 47.3% of installed capacity, and the report says they exceed thermal capacity by roughly 300 GW—a symbolic threshold, even if it does not translate one-for-one into electricity output.

Solar’s Real Share of “Powering China”

Installed capacity is not the same as electricity produced. Solar’s capacity share is about 30.8% (1.20/3.89), but solar’s generation share is materially lower because sunlight is intermittent and capacity factors are lower than those of dispatchable plants.

Independent generation datasets suggest solar’s share of electricity has nonetheless surged—Ember analysis indicates solar reached roughly 14% of China’s electricity mix in June 2025, and wind+solar hit record monthly levels.

Why This Could Become a Competitive Advantage

Scale becomes an advantage when it turns into lower unit costs, faster iteration, and industrial learning. China’s massive deployment fuels demand for turbines, inverters, grid equipment, storage, and upstream inputs—including rare earth permanent magnets used in many wind turbines.

Over time, this can produce compounding benefits: denser supplier clusters, more standardized components, greater EPC experience, and a larger home market that absorbs early production runs. That “learning laboratory” effect can eventually translate into cheaper, faster, more bankable projects—and a tougher competitive environment for Western manufacturers, developers, and even grid technology vendors.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from People’s Daily, a Chinese state-affiliated outlet. Figures and framing should be verified independently and interpreted alongside power-generation data, grid integration, curtailment, and regional dispatch realities.

• Northern Rare Earth Group is diversifying rare-earth applications beyond traditional materials into:
  • Healthcare
  • Textiles
  • Agriculture
  • Hydrogen energy
• Developed nearly 10 specialized compounds and over 30 solid-state hydrogen storage materials in 2025.
• Filed 158 patent applications in 2025.
• Led or participated in 69 standards in 2025.
• Involved in work on international standards for praseodymium-neodymium metal, critical for EV and wind turbine magnets.
• Demonstrated commercialization of a hydrogen-powered two-wheel vehicle using solid-state storage, achieving:
  • 90+ km range
  • Zero emissions
• Showcased cross-sector innovation from lab to market.

A major rare-earth producer based in Inner Mongolia reports rapid progress in expanding rare-earth applications beyond traditional materials into healthcare, textiles, agriculture, and hydrogen energy—signaling a deliberate push to move the industry up the value chain through cross-sector innovation, standards leadership, and faster commercialization of R&D.

According to a February 3, 2026 report from Baotou News Network, Northern Rare Earth Group says it used reforms to its R&D–production–sales model in 2025 to optimize product mix and accelerate commercialization. The company reports development of nearly 10 rare-earth compounds tailored to specific end markets and more than 30 solid-state hydrogen storage materials, while expanding “Rare Earth + Healthcare,” “Rare Earth + Textiles,” and “Rare Earth + Agriculture” use cases.

The company frames technology as its core growth engine. In 2025, it claims to have solved two core technical challenges, launched six new products, developed three new processes and four new equipment systems, and advanced six pilot demonstration lines, aiming to turn laboratory advances into scalable industrial output.

Standards and IP as Competitive Levers

The report emphasizes the growing influence of global standards. At the September 2025 meetings of ISO/TC 298 (Rare Earth Technical Committee), the company tracked seven active standards, initiated eight new projects, and advanced three new proposals. Notably, it is leading work on an international standard for praseodymium-neodymium (Pr-Nd) metal, a critical input for permanent magnets used in EVs, wind turbines, and defense systems.

In 2025, the firm says it filed 158 patent applications (including one international invention patent and 125 domestic invention patents) and participated in 69 standards, with leadership roles in roughly 34% of national and industry standards—a signal of growing rule-setting ambition, not just production scale.

From Lab to Market

Commercialization is demonstrated by a hydrogen-powered two-wheeled vehicle developed by a subsidiary, now in internal use. The vehicle uses an in-house solid-state hydrogen storage canister that holds 80–90 grams of hydrogen, delivering a range of over 90 kilometers, zero tailpipe emissions, and strong cold-weather performance.

The company also reports building a multi-layered innovation platform spanning basic research, applied technology, pilot production, and industrial deployment—supporting EVs, aerospace, advanced textiles, and micro-motor systems.

Western POV

The update underscores a broader pattern: rare earths are being repositioned as enabling technologies across multiple industries, not just mining outputs. Leadership in standards, IP, and cross-sector applications could translate into downstream leverage over magnets, hydrogen systems, and specialty materials—areas where Western supply chains remain exposed.

Disclosure & Verification Notice: This article is a translation and summary of a state-owned regional media outlet (Baotou News Network). All claims reflect company and government statements and should be independently verified. Performance metrics and technology outcomes may emphasize strategic positioning aligned with national industrial policy.

• Major 2025 milestones achieved by China Northern Rare Earth Group:
  • 158 patent filings
  • Leadership in ISO rare-earth standards
  • Breakthroughs in biological recovery and recycling technologies
• Expansion beyond mining into downstream applications, including:
  • EV components
  • Hydrogen storage
  • Aerospace materials
  • Cross-sector innovations in medical, textile, and agricultural uses
• Strategic push into standards, IP, and advanced processing widens the competitive gap with Western supply chains
• Signals China's ambition to control the entire rare earth value chain

China Northern Rare Earth Group (part of state-owned Baogang Group) reports significant progress in technology development, standard-setting, and commercialization, underscoring Beijing’s continued push to tighten control not just over rare-earth mining, but over advanced processing, materials science, and downstream applications that matter directly to global supply chains.

According to a February 3, 2026 report from Baogang Group media, the state-owned rare-earth giant says it solved two “core technologies” in 2025, launched six new products, developed three new processes, and deployed four new equipment systems, while advancing six demonstration production lines. The company frames innovation as its central growth engine, explicitly linking R&D output to industrial competitiveness.

Downstream Innovation = Patents

A key focus is standards and intellectual property leadership. Northern Rare Earth states it is actively shaping international rare-earth standards through ISO/TC 298, including leading work on an international standard for praseodymium-neodymium (Pr-Nd) metal—a critical input for permanent magnets used in EVs, defense systems, and industrial motors. In 2025 alone, the company claims 158 patent filings (including 125 invention patents) and leadership roles in roughly one-third of China’s national and industry rare-earth standards.

On the technology front, the company highlights progress in rare-earth recycling, bio-metallurgy, micro-motor systems, and functional materials, including pilot production lines targeting EVs, aerospace, advanced textiles, and magnetostrictive acoustic devices. Of particular note is its claimed breakthrough in biological recovery of rare earths from tailings and waste, a capability with potential cost and environmental advantages over conventional processing.

Taking to Market

Northern Rare Earth also showcased commercialization efforts, including a hydrogen-powered two-wheel vehicle using a solid-state hydrogen storage canister developed by its subsidiary. The company claims the system enables long-range, cold-weather performance and zero emissions—signaling ambitions beyond rare earths into adjacent energy technologies.

Strategically, the company emphasizes expanding cross-sector applications such as “rare-earth medical,” “rare-earth textiles,” and “rare-earth agriculture,” while preparing for China’s next five-year planning cycle with deeper integration of R&D, manufacturing, and global innovation networks.

Why this matters for the West

The update reinforces a critical reality: China is certainly not standing still. It is consolidating power not only in refining and magnets, but in standards, IP, recycling, and advanced materials, areas where the U.S. and allies remain structurally behind. For Western supply chains, this widens—not narrows—the competitive gap. This “owning the future” downstream raises significant concerns Rare Earth Exchanges™ continues to chronicle.

Disclosure & Verification Notice: This article is translated and summarized from Baogang Group–affiliated, state-owned Chinese media (Baogang Daily). Claims should be independently verified. Performance metrics, patents, and “breakthroughs” are company-reported and may reflect strategic messaging aligned with national industrial policy.

• China Northern Rare Earth's Ruixin Company has deployed the first fully automated inspection-and-packaging line for rare-earth metals.
• The system consolidates weighing, testing, surface finishing, and packaging into a single continuous workflow with real-time data generation.
• Manual handoffs are replaced with robotic arms and intelligent controls.
• Features online rapid-inspection that boosts speed, cuts costs, and creates complete digital production records.
• The transformation of packaging into a data-rich quality-control node.
• This incremental factory-floor upgrade highlights the importance of downstream automation, traceability, and cost discipline in gaining a competitive advantage.
• Western supply chains may struggle to match this structural shift as it emphasizes more than just mining capabilities.

A major step in factory-level modernization has quietly arrived in the rare-earth industry: a fully automated line that combines metal testing and final packaging into a single, continuous workflow. The upgrade underscores how competitiveness in critical materials is increasingly shaped not just by mining and separation, but by downstream automation, data integrity, and cost discipline.

According to a February 2, 2026, release from China Northern Rare Earth (Group) Hi‑Tech Co., Ltd., its affiliate, Ruixin Company, (opens in a new tab) has placed into commercial operation an automated inspection-and-packaging production line co-developed with CISRI NAK Testing Technology (opens in a new tab) (a subsidiary of China Iron & Steel Research Institute Group). The companies describe the system as the first domestically deployed, fully integrated solution of its kind forrare-earth metals, spanning inspection through final pack-out.

The line consolidates weighing, material feeding, and depalletizing, inspection, surface finishing (grinding), weight matching, and packaging into a single automated sequence. Robotic arms, conveyors, and centralized intelligent controls replace multiple manual handoffs, enabling uninterrupted, machine-driven operations across the entire packaging process rather than piecemeal upgrades.

A standout feature is an online rapid-inspection module that tests materials in real time during packaging. Management says this boosts inspection speed, reduces testing costs, and preserves measurement precision. Crucially, the system automatically generates and exports end-to-end data—covering weights, inspection results, and balancing—creating a fully digital production record. In practice, packaging shifts from a labor-intensive endpoint to a data-rich quality-control node.

Why this Matters Internationally

There are no new chemicals or products announced here. Instead, the significance lies in incremental but durable industrial upgrading. As rare-earth markets mature, advantage increasingly accrues to operators that can standardize quality, ensure traceability, and compress costs at scale. In many Western supply chains, downstream handling remains fragmented or semi-manual—leaving room for cost and consistency gaps.

Ruixin says it will use this line as a template to accelerate automation across additional packaging operations and to increase investment in “digital-intelligent” manufacturing.

Rare EarthExchanges™ suggests that for U.S. and European policymakers and investors, the takeaway is structural: competitive moats in critical materials are being reinforced on the factory floor through automation and data integration that compound over time.

Disclaimer: This item is translated and interpreted from media affiliated with Chinese state-owned enterprises. Technical claims and performance metrics should be independently verified before being relied upon for investment, procurement, or policy decisions.

• Baotou hosted a Science and Technology Innovation Salon to bring together local rare earth companies and Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers.
• The goal was to accelerate innovation in high-performance permanent magnets and intelligent manufacturing.
• Multiple preliminary cooperation agreements were reached between Baotou manufacturers and CAS research teams.
• The agreements aim at transferring cutting-edge magnet technology from laboratories to factory-scale production.
• The initiative demonstrates China's institutional coordination to tighten control over rare earth magnet supply chains.
• It seeks to shorten the path from research to industrial dominance in a sector where Western nations remain structurally dependent.

China’s rare earth capital, Baotou, has kicked off 2026 by strengthening ties between local magnet manufacturers and a leading Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) materials institute. The goal: accelerate innovation in high-performance permanent magnets and move cutting-edge lab research into factory-scale production. For global markets, this signals China’s continued push to lock in technological—not just resource—advantage across the rare earth magnet supply chain.

Yan Aru, Professor, Rare Earth Permanent Magnetic Materials

China’s Inner Mongolia city of Baotou hosted its first “Science and Technology Innovation Salon” of 2026 on January 27–28, focusing squarely on rare earths. The event brought together local rare earth companies and experts from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of China’s leading research hubs for magnetic materials.

Organized by the Baotou Science and Technology Bureau, the meeting centered on collaborative innovation in high-performance permanent magnets, intelligent manufacturing equipment for magnet production, and downstream applications of NdFeB and related materials. Researchers presented recent advances in magnet material design, smart manufacturing systems, and applications—areas directly relevant to electric vehicles, wind turbines, and advanced industrial motors.

According to officials, multiple preliminary cooperation intentions were reached between Baotou-based companies and the CAS research team, suggesting future joint R&D projects and technology transfer efforts. While no commercial contracts were announced, the emphasis was on aligning research outputs with specific, real-world manufacturing needs of local firms.

Yan Aru, director of the institute’s Magnetic Materials and Applications Laboratory (opens in a new tab), emphasized that Baotou’s political and financial support for rare earths is “stronger than ever,” and said the institute will now pursue customized follow-on engagements with individual companies to accelerate the commercialization of research locally.

Municipal leaders framed the initiative as part of Baotou’s broader plan to build “two rare earth bases”—widely understood as a world-class rare earth materials base and an advanced rare earth applications base—while modernizing the city’s legacy heavy-industry economy through green and high-tech transformation. Rare Earth Exchanges™ has elucidated the implications of this mandate in many articles.

For Western observers, the significance lies less in any single breakthrough and more in the institutional coordination on display: China is tightly coupling state-backed research institutes, local governments, and manufacturers to shorten the path from laboratory innovation to industrial dominance in rare earth magnets—a sector where the U.S. and Europe remain structurally dependent.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from media affiliated with Chinese state or municipal government entities. While the information appears internally consistent, it should be independently verified before being relied upon for investment, policy, or strategic decision-making.

• Chinese researchers developed the first industrial-academic database of nearly 2,000 real NdFeB magnet samples.
• Use of machine learning and active learning optimizes composition faster and cheaper than traditional trial-and-error methods.
• The AI system creates a continuous learning loop that identifies uncertain areas, requests only the most useful data, and retrains.
• This innovation bridges the gap between industry's cost focus and academia's performance goals.
• This breakthrough indicates China is advancing beyond manufacturing scale to algorithmic advantage in rare-earth magnets.
• Rare-earth magnets are a critical chokepoint for U.S. and European electric vehicle and wind turbine supply chains.

Chinese researchers report a major step toward AI-driven manufacturing of high-performance rare-earth magnets, a critical component in electric vehicles and wind turbines, not to mention other major products. By combining nearly 2,000 real industrial magnet samples with advanced machine-learning and “active learning” techniques, the team claims it can optimize magnet composition and processing faster, cheaper, and more reliably than traditional trial-and-error methods. If validated and scaled, this approach could tighten China’s lead in NdFeB magnet manufacturing, a strategic chokepoint for the U.S. andEurope.

What’s New — and Why It Matters

According to a February 2, 2026 announcement from the Computer Network Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (opens in a new tab), working with the Ganjiang Innovation Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (opens in a new tab), researchers have built what they describe as the first “industrial–academic dual-domain” database for sintered NdFeB magnets. The dataset contains nearly 2,000 samples drawn from real manufacturing environments rather than idealized lab conditions.

Using high-performance computing and multiple machine-learning models (random forests, gradient boosting, and classical and quantum-inspired support vector regression), the team tested how data selection strategies affect prediction accuracy and manufacturing outcomes in a virtual experiment setting.

Reviewing the Materials

The Chinese Society of Rare Earths included an infographic that illustrates an active learning production loop:

• Data preparation: Raw magnet data are cleaned, standardized, and splitinto training, validation, and test sets.
• Model training: Multiple AI models predict magnet performance based on composition and processing parameters.
• Active learning loop: Instead of training once, the system repeatedly selects the most informative new samples, retrains the model, and stops early when gains level off.
• Outcome: Faster convergence on optimal magnet recipes with fewer costly physical experiments.

In simple terms: the AI learns where it is uncertain, asks for only the most useful new data, and improves continuously—cutting time and cost.

Strategic Signal for the West

The study explicitly highlights a tension: industry prioritizes cost and stability, while academia pushes performance limits. The Chinese team claims its framework bridges this gap, offering a scalable path to factory-ready AI optimization. For the U.S. and EU—still struggling to localize NdFeB magnet supply—this signals that China is moving beyond scale alone toward algorithmic manufacturing advantage, potentially widening the competitive moat.

The peer-reviewed results were published in npj Computational Materials and funded by major Chinese state research programs.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from media affiliated with a state-backed Chinese research ecosystem. While technically plausible and published in a reputable journal, all claims should be independently verified before being used for investment or policy decisions.

• China Northern Rare Earth's Huamei subsidiary is expanding samarium-europium-gadolinium separation capacity and piloting high-purity samarium products.
• Huamei is moving beyond commodity outputs toward specialized, defense-relevant materials.
• The company implemented closed-loop production accountability and lifecycle equipment management to achieve stable January output.
• Huamei is targeting consistent capacity release across all production lines.
• Strategic investments are being made in rare earth fluoride technology readiness, waste-heat recovery, and continuous process improvements.
• These actions signal China's push to industrialize specialized refining capabilities and tighten supply-chain control.

A smelting subsidiary of China Northern Rare Earth Group—identified as the Smelting Division (Huamei Company)—says it began the year with stable output and higher operating efficiency, framing January as a “start strong, sprint early” moment. The company claims it is balancing safety, quality, and throughput to lock in production stability as the base for meeting full-year targets.

Operational Discipline as Competitive Strategy

The business-relevant updates are operational—and potentially strategic. Management highlights tighter safety and reliability controls (risk-prevention systems, special hazard inspections, and full lifecycle equipment management) alongside a “closed-loop” production accountability model that assigns responsibility down to specific people. The aim is straightforward: fewer disruptions, tighter execution, and more consistent capacity release across both legacy and newer production lines.

Moving Up the Rare Earth Value Chain

Two items stand out for Western and U.S. readers because they point to movement up the value chain. First, the company says it is boosting separation capacity for a samarium–europium–gadolinium (Sm–Eu–Gd) enriched concentrate—explicitly described as addressing a weakness in its product mix.

Why Samarium Matters

That matters because Sm and related materials feed higher-performance magnet and specialty applications (including segments of defense and high-temperature systems), where supply resilience and processing know-how are strategically sensitive.

Higher-Purity Products, Broader Technical Optionality

Second, it reports progress on pilot production of high-purity samarium carbonate and samarium oxide, while also “reserving” (i.e., building technical readiness for) rare earth fluoride technology—another step toward higher-end, more specialized products rather than commodity outputs.

Efficiency, Energy, and Continuous Improvement

On the efficiency side, the unit also cites early work on waste-heat recovery and energy-saving optimization, plus a series of “small innovations” driven by an in-house master technician studio—suggesting a continuous-improvement culture aimed at lowering costs and tightening process control.

What This Signals for the West

No single “breakthrough” is detailed in technical terms, but the combination—greater Sm–Eu–Gd separation capacity, high-purity samarium product pilots, and process/energy optimization—signals China’s ongoing push to industrialize specialized rare earth capabilities. For U.S. and European supply-chain planners, this is another incremental indicator that Chinese incumbents are expanding not just volume, but refining depth and product sophistication.

Disclaimer: This item is translated from reporting by media affiliated with a Chinese state-owned entity. The information has not been independently verified and should be confirmed through independent sources before being used for investment, procurement, or policy decisions.

• China Northern Rare Earth's magnet subsidiary reports January breakthroughs in:
  • NdFeB alloy flake production stability
  • Customer response times
  • Smart-manufacturing integration
• The company is accelerating a 50,000-ton per year NdFeB alloy expansion with automated MES systems to improve:
  • Yield
  • Quality traceability
  • Process control at scale
• Operational upgrades may widen the cost-and-quality gap for:
  • Western magnet supply chains
• Complicating U.S./EU efforts to localize production for:
  • EVs
  • Wind turbines
  • Defense

China Northern Rare Earth Group’s magnet materials subsidiary says it opened the year with steadier operations and improved efficiency, pointing to “notable breakthroughs” in three areas: reliable production of NdFeB (neodymium-iron-boron) alloy flakes, faster customer response, and accelerated smart-manufacturing upgrades. In the company’s telling, January performance improved both output stability and quality—positioning it for full-year targets.

What’s Behind the Improving Efficiency?

The update is business-relevant because it describes a tighter commercial operating model around a volatile NdFeB market. The company claims it has built a rapid “market assessment → strategy adjustment → execution feedback” loop to react faster to pricing and demand shifts.

It also emphasizes deeper coordination with upstream suppliers to protect production continuity, while simultaneously leaning into downstream customer customization—aimed at improving customer stickiness and cushioning market swings. Translation for Western readers: they’re trying to run magnets like a modern, demand-driven industrial business, not just a materials plant.

Major Upgrades Forthcoming

The most consequential detail for the U.S. and Europe is the production and automation push tied to a 5 million-kg (50,000-ton) per year NdFeB alloy flake expansion project. The company says it is accelerating integration of an MES (Manufacturing Execution System) with an automated batching line—improving data capture, process handoffs, and quality traceability. If those upgrades translate into higher yield, tighter tolerances, and fewer defects, it strengthens China’s ability to scale magnet feedstock with consistent quality—an area that matters for EV motors, wind turbines, robotics, and defense supply chains.

No single new technology is disclosed, but the “breakthrough” here is operational: capacity expansion plus digital process control. For the West, that combination can mean a wider cost-and-quality gap—and a harder climb for U.S./EU efforts to localize magnet supply chains if Chinese producers continue to industrialize faster and at larger scale.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from media affiliated with a Chinese state-owned entity. The information has not been independently verified and should be confirmed through independent sources before being used for investment, procurement, or strategic decisions.

• China's MIIT selected Northern Rare Earth Group and Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute for the 2025 National Key R&D Program pilot, aimed at accelerating the commercialization of advanced manufacturing and materials technologies.
• The pilot program focuses on closing the gap between laboratory research and large-scale production through coordinated policy support, targeted funding, and fast-tracking breakthroughs to production lines.
• Northern Rare Earth will leverage this designation to build China's 'two rare earth bases' and expand its 'Rare Earth+' strategy into higher-value applications like advanced magnets and functional materials, potentially widening China's competitive lead over Western supply-chain diversification efforts.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has selected China Northern Rare Earth Group and the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute for inclusion in the 2025 National Key R&D Program pilot for industrializing high-tech research. Both entities were chosen under the “industrial implementation” category—signaling Beijing’s intent to accelerate the commercial deployment of advanced manufacturing and new-materials technologies, with rare earths squarely in focus.

“Tighter Matching” of Supply & Demand

According to the announcement, the pilot program is designed to close the gap between laboratory research and large-scale production. It emphasizes tighter matching of industrial supply and demand, stronger incentives for innovation-led institutions, and improved commercialization services. In practical terms, this means coordinated policy support, targeted resource allocation, and funding mechanisms aimed at moving breakthroughs directly onto production lines—fast.

Accelerating Two Rare Earth Bases—‘Owning the Future of Downstream’

For Northern Rare Earth, China’s dominant rare earth producer, the designation is more than symbolic. The company says it will use its pilot status to anchor its role in building China’s “two rare earth bases”—a reference to upstream resource security and downstream advanced materials manufacturing—while aligning with the country’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030).

The stated goal is to strengthen “full-element, full-category” capabilities across the rare earth spectrum and to push deeper integration between scientific research and industrial output. Central to this effort is the expansion of the “Rare Earth+” strategy, which focuses on higher-value applications such as advanced magnets, functional materials, and next-generation manufacturing inputs.

Why this matters for Western and U.S. audiences

The key development here is China’s formal elevation of rare earth commercialization to a national R&D priority, with itslargest producer and a leading research institute directly embedded inthe program. This suggests faster scaling of proprietary processes, tighter control over intellectual property, and accelerated movement into higher-margin downstream technologies—areas where the U.S. and Europe are actively trying to reduce dependence on China.

If successful, the pilot could further entrench China’s lead not just in rare-earth extraction but also in advanced materials, processing know-how, and industrial deployment, raising the bar for Western supply-chain diversification efforts.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from a Chinese state-owned company. The information has not been independently verified and should be cross-checked with additional sources before being relied upon for investment, policy, or strategic decision-making.

• China's Ministry approved Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Zone as a national pilot to commercialize government-funded R&D, making it Inner Mongolia's only regional selection.
• The pilot program gives Baotou policy flexibility, priority access to national R&D, and authority to accelerate technology transfer from labs to factories.
• This institutionalizes China's fast conversion of rare-earth research into industrial capacity, highlighting the West's competitive gap in state-supported technology commercialization.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has approved the Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Zone as a national pilot region for commercializing high-tech developed under China’s National Key R&D Program. The announcement, published January 30 by Baotou Daily, makes the zone the only regional pilot selected in Inner Mongolia.

The designation is significant. It places Baotou’s Rare Earth High-Tech Zone squarely inside Beijing’s core innovation strategy, with a formal mandate to turn government-funded research into scalable industrial output. The pilot program is designed to accelerate the transition of “strategic technologies” from labs into factories—shortening timelines between research, pilot testing, and mass production.

Under the program, approved regions are tasked with experimenting with new commercialization mechanisms, building replicable models, and generating experience that can be rolled out nationally. In practice, this givesBaotou policy flexibility, priority access to national R&D, and astronger role in shaping how advanced technologies—especially rare-earth-related—are industrialized.

Officials highlighted the zone’s recent track record: assembling industry–academia partnerships, commercializing “first-of-their-kind” and “national first-set” technologies, and building a coordinated innovation network centered on trust, speed, and execution. These capabilities were cited as key reasons the zone was selected to receive and scale national-level research outputs.

Looking ahead, the Rare Earth High-Tech Zone says it will construct an integrated “selection–pilot testing–industrialization” pipeline, explicitly aimed at breaking bottlenecks that typically slow technology transfer. The goal is to cultivate “new-quality productiveforces”—Beijing’s term for advanced, high-valueindustrial capacity—while positioning Baotou as a backbone node in China’s national innovation system.

Why this matters to the U.S. and the West

This move reinforces a critical reality: China is institutionalizing the fast conversion of rare-earth R&D into industrial capacity, not just at the national level but inside specialized regional hubs. For Western policymakers, this underscores the competitive gap—not in mining alone, but in organized, state-supported technology commercialization, especially in rare earths and downstream advanced materials.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinesestate-owned company affiliated media. The information has not beenindependently verified and should be confirmed through additional sources before being used for investment, policy, or strategic decision-making.

• China's rare earth industry positions magnesium-rare earth (Mg-RE) alloys as strategically critical advanced materials for aerospace, defense, and high-performance manufacturing, showcasing the country's leadership across the full value chain from R&D to industrial deployment.
• Rare earth elements transform magnesium's limitations by refining grain structure, creating nanoscale precipitates, and improving high-temperature strength, creep resistance, and corrosion performance while maintaining magnesium's ultra-low density advantage.
• For Western defense and aerospace sectors, China's integration of rare earth chemistry into structural materials—not just magnets—highlights growing supply chain vulnerabilities and potential performance gaps in lightweighting and thermal resilience applications.

China’s rare earth industry bodies are spotlighting magnesium–rare earth (Mg-RE) alloys as a strategically important class of advanced materials, underscoring their growing role in aerospace, defense, and high-performance manufacturing.

Magnesium–rare earth alloys are defined as materials in which magnesium serves as the base metal, with rare earth elements added as primary or trace alloying components. These alloys are valued for their high temperature strength and thermal stability, while retaining magnesium’s hallmark advantage: extremely low density.

As the lightest structural metal used in engineering, magnesium alloys offer high specific strength, good biocompatibility, and electromagnetic shielding properties—making them attractive for aerospace, defense systems, electronics, and potential biomedical applications. Historically, however, their widespread use has been constrained by poor room-temperature ductility, limited absolute strength, weak high-temperature performance, and poor creep resistance.

Several days ago, an article in the China Rare Earth Industry Association explained how rare earth elements address these limitations through multiple metallurgical mechanisms. Rare earth additions purify molten magnesium by binding oxygen and sulfur impurities and form dense oxide films that prevent oxidation and combustion—longstanding industrial safety challenges.

At the microstructural level, rare earth atoms refine grain structure, strengthen the alloy through solid-solution effects, improve ductility by enabling additional slip systems, and create dense nanoscale precipitates during heat treatment that block dislocation movement. Together, these effects significantly enhance strength, plasticity, high-temperature stability, creep resistance, and corrosion performance.

Chinese researchers report that China has made major advances across the full value chain—from basic science and alloy design to processing, industrial-scale production, and application. The country now positions itself as a global leader in magnesium–rare earth alloy R&D and deployment, directly supporting rapid progress in China’s aerospace and defense sectors.

Why This Matters for the U.S. and the West

For Western defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing firms, this article signals more than materials science progress—it highlights China’s deep integration of rare earth chemistry into next-generation structural materials, not just magnets.

Magnesium–rare earth alloys sit at the intersection of lightweighting, thermal resilience, and defense relevance, areas where supply chain dependence already concerns U.S. policymakers. The implicit message: rare earth dominance increasingly  translates into performance advantages, not merely cost control.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinese state-affiliated media and industry organizations. The information presented should be independently verified through non-Chinese or peer-reviewed sources before being relied upon for investment, policy, or procurement decisions.

• In 2025, Beifang Jiaxuan introduced permanent-magnet industrial retrofit solutions.
• The solutions claim 25-30% energy savings and significantly reduced maintenance across mining and metallurgical conveyor systems.
• Over 150 units have already been deployed.
• The technologies eliminate traditional gearboxes through direct-drive designs.
• They achieve motor power factors of 0.96 and reduce operating current by 22%.
• The retrofits are faster, cheaper, and require no civil engineering changes.
• This signals accelerating commercialization of permanent-magnet motor systems in China's heavy industry.
• The advancements reinforce structural demand for NdFeB magnets beyond EVs.
• China's advantage in rare-earth-dependent industrial decarbonization technologies is being widened.

Against China’s “dual-carbon” goals (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality), industrial energy-efficiency upgrades are no longer optional but a core requirement for enterprise survival, according to a new report from Baogang Daily. Motors—described as the “heart of modern industry”—are now a central focus of China’s decarbonization strategy.

In 2025, Beifang Jiaxuan Permanent Magnet Technology rolled out a series of permanent-magnet–based industrial retrofit solutions aimed at high-energy-consumption conveyor belt systems, particularly in mining and metallurgy. The company claims these technologies represent a step-change in efficiency, cost reduction, and system simplicity.

One approach, described as a permanent-magnet semi-direct-drive retrofit, eliminates traditional gearboxes and couplings by directly connecting a low-speed permanent magnet motor to the drive drum. According to the report, this redesign sharply shortens the transmission chain and boosts system efficiency. Claimed performance metrics include a motor power factor of 0.96 (eliminating the need for reactive power compensation equipment), a 22% reduction in operating current under the same load, and a 38-kilowatt reduction in active power consumption. Equipment weight reportedly drops to 7.5–8.5 metric tons, allowing installation with existing cranes and no civil-engineering modifications—cutting retrofit time and cost while reducing maintenance frequency.

A second solution, the permanent-magnet external-rotor drum motor, integrates the motor and conveyor drum into a single unit. Designed for standardized, modular deployment, the system reportedly delivers average energy savings of 25–30% across operating conditions, halves maintenance frequency, and extends conveyor belt life by roughly 20%.

Baogang Daily reports that more than 150 units are already operating in real-world mining and metallurgical environments.

The company also highlighted its broader permanent-magnet intelligent direct-drive transmission platform, applicable to pumps, crushers, mills, conveyors, mixers, and cooling systems. Paired with a “smart electromechanical guardian” diagnostic system, equipment performance is continuously monitored using cloud computing and data analytics to predict failures, reduce downtime, and extend asset life.

Relevance for the West

This is not just a product launch—it signals accelerating deployment of permanent-magnet motor systems at scale inside China’s heavy industry. If performance claims hold (and they need to be verified and validated by external parties) the technologies imply rising domestic demand for NdFeB magnets, tighter integration between magnet producers and industrial OEMs, and faster retirement of legacy motor systems.

For U.S. and European manufacturers, this underscores two strategic realities:

1. China continues to commercialize permanent-magnet motor technologies faster and at scale, and
2. Industrial decarbonization is becoming a demand driver for rare-earth magnets, not just EVs and wind turbines.

Western policymakers and investors should view this as further evidence that energy efficiency is reinforcing China’s structural advantage in rare-earth-dependent technologies.

Profile

Beifang Jiaxuan Permanent Magnet Technology—also referred to as Inner Mongolia North Jiaxuan Technology and closely linked to the Baogang Group / China Northern Rare Earth ecosystem—is a Chinese manufacturer specializing in rare-earth permanent-magnet motors for heavy industrial applications.

The company focuses on low-speed, direct-drive permanent-magnet motors and integrated electric roller systems, designed to eliminate traditional gearboxes and improve efficiency. These systems incorporate intelligent, load-adaptive speed control, enabling higher energy efficiency, lower maintenance, and reduced mechanical complexity.

Beifang Jiaxuan’s primary markets include mining, cement, and energy-intensive industrial operations, where conveyor systems, crushers, mills, and pumps account for a large share of electricity consumption. By replacing conventional induction motors and gearbox assemblies, the company positions its products as tools for industrial energy-efficiency retrofits and decarbonization initiatives.

A key milestone occurred in 2023, when the first phase of Beifang Jiaxuan’s permanent-magnet motor manufacturing project entered production, marking a shift from pilot-scale development to industrial deployment. The company is part of China’s broader push to move up the rare-earth value chain, transforming domestic rare-earth resources into finished, high-value clean-energy equipment rather than exporting raw materials.

Strategically, Beifang Jiaxuan plays a role in China’s effort to industrialize “direct-drive” permanent-magnet technology, which reduces energy losses, improves reliability, and strengthens domestic demand for neodymium-based magnets. Its integration with China’s rare-earth supply chain underscores how downstream motor technology is reinforcing upstream rare-earth dominance.

In short, Beifang Jiaxuan is not just a motor supplier—it is part of a vertically integrated Chinese strategy linking rare-earth extraction, magnet production, and industrial electrification into a single, state-aligned manufacturing ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Baogang Daily, a publication of a state-owned Chinese entity. Statements reflect official and affiliated corporate claims and should be independently verified before forming business or investment conclusions.

• Leveraged rare earth ETFs amplified both the Trump deal rally and subsequent selloff, reflecting sentiment compression rather than changes in U.S. rare earth strategy or industrial capability.
• REMX includes Chinese state-linked companies, meaning it's not an ex-China hedge—capital rotation through diversified ETFs may actually increase indirect exposure to China's integrated supply chain.
• ETF price swings reveal market sentiment, not supply chain control—true value accrues in separation capacity, alloying, and magnet production, not financial instruments trading policy narratives.

Benzinga correctly captures (opens in a new tab) the market mechanics behind the sharp reversal in rare-earth ETFs: leveraged products tied to USA Rare Earth amplified both last week’s policy-driven surge and this week’s equally violent unwind. The warning on leverage is fair. These instruments are trading vehicles, not investment proxies for industrial progress.

Where the article falls short is in what it implies about rare earth fundamentals.

Policy Headlines not equal to Supply Chains

The federal commitment to USA Rare Earth—grants, loans, and equity participation—is real and notable. But Benzinga’s framing risks collapsing policy intent into near-term industrial capability. Mining in West Texas is not expected until 2028 at least. Separation, metal-making, and magnet-scale manufacturing remain unresolved bottlenecks and according to Rare Earth Exchanges assessment could be padded with more time. A pullback in USAR-linked ETFs says more about expectation compression than about the viability of U.S. rare earth strategy.

In short, the selloff reflects timeline reality, not policy retreat.

The REMX Blind Spot

The article references the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF as a diversified alternative—but omits a critical fact for investors: REMX includes Chinese companies, including state-linked and vertically integrated players. This means REMX is not an ex-China hedge. In periods of volatility, capital rotating through REMX may actually increase indirect exposure to China’s rare earth system, not reduce it.

This matters. China’s advantage is not price—it is integration. Its supply chain dampens volatility. Western upstream equities amplify it.

What the Market Is Really Trading

The ETF turbulence described by Benzinga is not a referendum on rare earth demand or strategic importance. It is a reminder that financial instruments trade narratives faster than supply chains can move material.

Leveraged ETFs magnify policy noise. Diversified ETFs blur geopolitical exposure. Neither substitutes for hard analysis of separation capacity, alloying, and magnet production—the layers where value ultimately accrues. See the Rare Earth Exchanges rankings across the supply chain for a more holistic view of the key players upstream (heavy and light), midstream, and downstream in magnets.

The REEx Bottom Line

The article is right about leverage risk. It is incomplete about the supply-chain truth.

Rare earths are not a trade. They are an industrial system.

ETF price swings reveal sentiment. They do not reveal control.

• China's combined wind and solar installed capacity surpassed 1.8 terawatts by the end of 2025, overtaking coal-fired power capacity for the first time, with renewables now accounting for 47.3% of total capacity.
• Installed capacity doesn't equal delivered electricity—coal still provides 60-62% of primary energy and remains essential for baseload stability despite renewable growth.
• China's renewable buildout reinforces its dominance across critical supply chains, including permanent magnets, polysilicon, and grid hardware, converting energy transition into strategic mineral leverage.

Are gigawatts becoming a narrative weapon? China’s state media is celebrating a milestone: by the end of 2025, the country’s combined wind and solar installed capacity surpassed 1.8 terawatts, overtaking coal-fired power capacity for the first time if these reports are to be believed.  According to figures released via the China Rare Earth Industry Association and People’s Daily, total power generation capacity reached 3.89 TW, with solar at 1.2 TW (+35.4% YoY) and wind at 640 GW (+22.9% YoY). Renewables now account for 47.3% of total installed capacity.

Some background research suggests the numbers are directionally credible. China has been installing renewable capacity at a scale unmatched globally, aided by aggressive state planning, capital deployment, and vertically integrated supply chains.

But installed capacity is not the same as usable power—and this distinction matters for investors.

Looking Legitimate

China has built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. Annual additions have accelerated dramatically, with new wind and solar installations rising from 100 GW per year four years ago to roughly 400 GW in 2025. Large desert-based projects, offshore wind, and distributed rooftop solar are real, not aspirational.

From a rare earth and critical minerals perspective, this buildout reinforces China’s dominance across permanent magnets (NdPr, Dy, Tb), polysilicon, wafers, turbines, and grid-scale hardware. Every incremental gigawatt strengthens China’s demand gravity—and pricing power—across upstream materials.

What the Coverage Soft-Pedals

What People’s Daily does not emphasize is the capacity factor, curtailment, and grid stress. Installed capacity does not equal delivered electricity. Coal remains indispensable for baseload stability, and China continues permitting new coal plants even as renewables surge.

Coal remains China's dominant energy source, accounting for roughly 60-62% of its primary energy consumption, though this varies slightly by year and source, with recent figures showing it supplying over half of the nation's power, even as renewables rapidly grow. For instance, data from 2023 shows coal making up about 61% of the energy supply and 61.3% of electricity generation, while some reports show its share of power generation dropping to around 53% in mid-2024 due to increased clean energy.

But China seeks more than just green-based energy diversification—more than just decarbonization. The nation’s policies reinforce the move for industrial control. Wind and solar scale lock in long-term demand for rare earth magnets, specialty steels, copper, and grid electronics—nearly all supplied by Chinese-dominated chains.

Reading Between the Lines

The tone emanating from the Chinese press remains triumphalist and selective, typical of state-affiliated media. The data itself is largely sound, but the framing omits system inefficiencies and geopolitical implications. A form of strategic storytelling.

For investors, the takeaway is not “China goes green.” It is this: China continues to work to convert the energy transition into mineral leverage.

Source: People’s Daily, January 29, 2026; China Rare Earth Industry Association. This article originates from Chinese state-affiliated media and should be independently verified.

• China's Rare Earth Price Index reached 247.4 on January 28, 2026—147% above the 2010 baseline—signaling decisive upward pricing momentum after stabilization through 2024 and acceleration into early 2026.
• Rising Chinese rare earth prices directly impact Western manufacturers in EVs, wind turbines, defense, and AI infrastructure, triggering higher magnet input costs, tighter contracts, and reduced spot-market availability.
• Despite billions invested in ex-China supply chains, Chinese pricing remains the global benchmark because China controls majority separation, metal-making, and magnet capacity—functioning as the marginal supplier that sets market prices worldwide.

The China Rare Earth Industry Association released its latest Rare Earth Price Index on January 28, 2026, reporting a reading of 247.4—more than 2.4× the 2010 baseline and the strongest signal yet that pricing momentum inside China’s rare earth market has decisively turned upward.

What the Index Actually Measures

This is not a single commodity price. The index is a composite benchmark calculated from daily, real-time transaction data reported by 20+ rare earth companies across China. Those data are averaged and fed into the Association’s price-index model, then normalized against a base period of calendar year 2010 (index = 100). In practical terms, today’s reading indicates that aggregate rare earth transaction prices in China are running roughly 147% above the 2010 reference level.

Why This Print Matters Now

The accompanying trend chart—spanning early 2023 through January 2026—tells a clear story. Prices fell sharply through 2023, reflecting post-pandemic demand normalization and inventory liquidation. The market stabilized across much of 2024, then re-accelerated through late 2025 into early 2026, culminating in the current 247.4 reading. That trajectory points to tightening domestic conditions, firmer pricing power among producers, and renewed procurement urgency within China’s rare earth ecosystem.

Implications for U.S. and Allied Supply Chains

For Western manufacturers, the signal is actionable even without element-by-element detail. A rising China-linked index typically precedes higher magnet input costs—especially for NdPr-dependent supply chains—along with tighter contract terms, reduced spot-market availability, and less flexibility for smaller buyers. Industries most exposed include EV drivetrains, wind turbines, industrial robotics, aerospace systems, AI infrastructure, and segments of the U.S. defense industrial base.

The Strategic Subtext

Beyond pricing, the index underscores China’s structural influence over market psychology. When domestic Chinese benchmarks move higher, export pricing and availability often follow. In effect, Beijing doesn’t just control much of the physical supply—it increasingly shapes expectations, which ripple outward into global contracting behavior.

For U.S. policymakers and procurement leaders, the message is consistent with recent developments in standards-setting and export management: price risk, specification risk, and timing risk remain intertwined. Diversification efforts may reduce dependence, but they have not yet insulated Western markets from China’s internal pricing cycles.

Why Chinese Rare Earth Pricing Still Matters—Even in an “Ex-China” Supply Chain Era

The United States and its allies are investing billions to build an “ex-China” rare earth supply chain, but Chinese pricing remains the gravitational center of the global market and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. This is not a political argument; it is a structural one.

Why? China still controls the majority of global rare earth separation, metal-making, and magnet production capacity, which makes it the marginal supplier—the producer that ultimately balances global supply and demand. In commodity markets, the marginal supplier sets the price. Until non-Chinese capacity can meet global demand reliably and at scale, Chinese domestic pricing will continue to anchor global benchmarks in myriad ways.

Even projects marketed as “China-independent” remain deeply price-indexed to China. Most Western offtake agreements, project financings, and downstream contracts are explicitly or implicitly tied to Chinese reference prices, with premiums or discounts layered on top. This is even with price floors now emerging, such as the U.S. Pentagon deal inked with MP Materials ($110 kg NdPr). Bankability, valuation models, and internal rates of return are still built around China-derived pricing signals. When China’s price index rises, the global floor rises with it—regardless of where the material is mined or processed.

China also controls supply elasticity in a way no emerging Western supply chain can yet match. Chinese producers can ramp output up or down far faster than new projects in the U.S., Australia, or Europe, which face permitting delays, environmental review, capital constraints, and workforce shortages. This gives China unmatched influence over short-term pricing dynamics: when Chinese supply tightens—whether deliberately or organically—prices move quickly, long before alternative supply can respond.

Rare earth pricing is further reinforced downstream. It is not just about oxides, but about magnets, motors, and finished components and assemblies. China continues to dominate NdFeB magnet manufacturing and motor integration. Western automakers and defense contractors may source oxides elsewhere, but many still re-import China-priced components, effectively pulling Chinese cost structures back into ostensibly diversified supply chains.

Beyond physical supply, China shapes market psychology. Its price indices function as leading indicators watched by procurement teams, traders, and investors worldwide. Rising domestic prices trigger inventory hoarding, contract renegotiations, and preemptive buying across global markets. Even buyers that never touch Chinese material are reacting to Chinese price signals because their suppliers, financiers, and competitors are.

Finally, Western rare earth supply chains—while real and improving—remain young, capital-intensive, and operationally fragile. They lack the depth, redundancy, and shock-absorption capacity of China’s integrated ecosystem. In this phase, Chinese pricing acts as a stress test: when prices rise, weak projects fail; when prices fall, capital retreats.

Bottom line: until Western supply chains mature across mining, separation, metals, and magnets, Chinese pricing will remain an unavoidable reference point, risk signal, and psychological anchor of the rare earth market. Building supply outside China is essential—but pretending Chinese prices no longer matter is not a strategy. It is wishful thinking.

Disclaimer: This item is sourced from state-linked Chinese industry media associated with the China Rare Earth Industry Association. Index values, methodology, and inferred market impacts should be independently verified using third-party pricing services, customs and export data, and non-Chinese market intelligence before informing investment or procurement decisions.

• China's MIIT opened public consultation on 101 draft industry standards covering rare earths, battery materials, and critical minerals—transforming technical specifications into tools of strategic statecraft and supply chain control.
• A new standard for cerium-praseodymium-neodymium oxide reinforces China's dominance at the choke point between mining and magnet manufacturing, potentially raising barriers for Western efforts to build independent supply chains.
• By codifying domestic benchmarks in sectors it already dominates, Beijing exports not just materials but the rules governing them, forcing global suppliers to adapt to Chinese technical frameworks and qualification regimes.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has opened a public consultation on 101 newly drafted industry standards, a procedural step that—while bureaucratic on the surface—marks a meaningful advance in Beijing’s effort to formalize technical control over strategically vital materials.

The draft standards, open for comment from January 27 through February 25, 2026, span black metallurgy, non-ferrous metals, building materials, machinery, and rare earths. Among the most consequential is a new rare earth industry standard for cerium–praseodymium–neodymium oxide, a blended oxide feedstock essential to permanent magnets used across electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, aerospace, and defense systems.

Other standards, per an Association of China Rare Earth Industry entry (opens in a new tab), cover battery-grade lithium dihydrogen phosphate, graphene oxide powder weight-loss testing via thermogravimetric analysis, precision abrasives for touchscreen glass processing, and dozens of specialty mineral powders. Collectively, they establish uniform methods for testing, purity thresholds, performance metrics, and quality certification across materials that underpin EV batteries, semiconductors, optics, AI hardware, and clean-energy infrastructure.

On paper, this is routine standardization. In practice, it is strategic statecraft.

By codifying domestic benchmarks—especially in sectors where China already dominates processing and refining—Beijing strengthens its ability to export not just materials, but rules. Suppliers and downstream manufacturers, including Western firms, may increasingly find that Chinese standards become the default qualification regime, even for products sold outside China. This is how industrial dominance becomes institutionalized.

The rare earth oxide standard is particularly significant. Cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium oxides sit at the choke point between mining and magnet manufacturing. A formalized Chinese specification can shape export acceptability, tighten downstream qualification requirements, and subtly reinforce pricing power—raising integration barriers for non-Chinese processors and complicating Western efforts to stand up independent magnet supply chains.

For the United States, the implications are clear and uncomfortable. Standards determine who can sell, who can qualify, and who must adapt. As Washington invests billions in reshoring critical minerals and advanced manufacturing, it now faces a parallel challenge: standards sovereignty. Without aligned U.S. and allied technical frameworks—across rare earths, battery materials, and advanced ceramics—Western supply chains risk remaining structurally dependent, even when production shifts geographically.

The consultation window itself is brief and procedural. The signal is not. China is no longer content to dominate supply alone—it is methodically defining the technical language of the industries that depend on it.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinese government-affiliated and state-linked industry media, including organizations operating under China’s industrial policy framework. All information should be independently verified, and interpretations should be assessed in light of state-directed economic objectives.

• China's MIIT selected two Baogang Group subsidiaries for a national pilot program designed to accelerate commercialization of advanced rare earth technologies and manufacturing capabilities.
• The program emphasizes rapid conversion of R&D into industrial production through policy coordination, capital support, and institutional alignment across the rare earth value chain.
• This signals China's strategic focus on downstream innovation and technology-to-industry dominance, presenting a structural challenge for Western supply chain strategies beyond mining and processing.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT (opens in a new tab)) has selected two subsidiaries of Baogang Group—China Northern Rare Earth Group (often referred to as Northern Rare Earth) and the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute—to participate in a national-level pilot program aimed at accelerating the commercialization of advanced technologies.

The announcement cited by Association of China Rare Earth Industry (opens in a new tab) places both entities on MIIT’s 2025 National Key R&D Program High-Tech Achievements Industrialization Pilot List, specifically under the category of implementation-focused commercialization pilots. The program targets advanced manufacturing and new materials—two pillars of China’s industrial strategy—and is designed to shorten the path from laboratory research to full-scale industrial production.

Rare Earth Exchanges™ continues to caution policymakers in the West that China’s industrial policy involves the dominance of downstream innovation and the lucrative breakthroughs of tomorrow.

Why This Matters

The pilot program is not about basic research. It is about execution. MIIT’s framework emphasizes tighter matching between industrial demand and scientific supply, stronger incentives for innovation entities, and improved commercialization services. In practical terms, this means policy coordination, capital support, and resource alignment to ensure that research outcomes rapidly become production-line capabilities.

For Baogang, this selection signals Beijing’s intent to deepen vertical integration across the rare earth value chain, spanning the full spectrum of elements and product categories. The group has framed the move as part of its longer-term “15th Five-Year Plan” strategy, positioning Northern Rare Earth and the Baotou institute as demonstration hubs for translating rare earth science into high-end industrial applications.

Implications for Western Markets

The key update for U.S. and European observers is structural rather than transactional. China is doubling down on industrializing rare earth innovation, not merely controlling upstream mining or separation. By accelerating the commercialization of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, Beijing aims to move faster in areas such as high-performance magnets, rare-earth-enabled components, and downstream applications under the broader “Rare Earth +” strategy.

This reinforces a central challenge for Western supply-chain strategies: competing with China requires not just new mines or processing plants, but institutional mechanisms that convert R&D into scalable manufacturing. The pilot underscores how closely China is aligning policy, research institutes, and state-owned champions to lock in advantages at the technology-to-industry interface.

The Bottom Line

This is a signal of intent. China is formalizing pathways that turn rare earth research into industrial dominance—faster, more coordinated, and more policy-backed than most Western systems currently allow.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinese state-affiliated media and a state-owned enterprise. The information presented has not been independently verified and should be corroborated with additional sources before being relied upon for investment or policy decisions.

• China's 2025 yttrium export controls have created a bifurcated supply chain where buyers source through traditional brokers or improvised digital platforms like Amazon and Alibaba.
• Small buyers increasingly purchase yttrium through retail e-commerce from Chinese sellers, accepting risks in traceability and compliance due to lack of access to institutional channels.
• The rise of platform-mediated yttrium sales signals porous export controls, poor transparency outside institutional channels, and structural market tightness lasting into the 2030s.

Yttrium shortages are no longer theoretical. As export controls tightened and non-Chinese supply failed to scale fast enough, a quiet but revealing adaptation has taken hold across global markets: buyers are sourcing yttrium wherever they can find it. For some, that means traditional brokers. For others, it means scrolling Amazon, Albaba or another of other platforms.

What has emerged is a bifurcated supply chain—one institutional and brokered, the other improvised, opaque, and increasingly digital.

A Market Under Strain

As Rare Earth Exchanges™ reported earlier this month, yttrium has become one of the most supply-constrained rare earth elements globally. China controls more than 90% of production and processing, and its 2025 export controls sharply curtailed overseas availability. U.S. imports collapsed. European prices spiked. Manufacturers hoarded inventory.

Yet demand did not pause. Semiconductor fabs, aerospace suppliers, ceramics producers, research labs, and energy firms still needed yttrium oxide, metal, and compounds—sometimes in kilograms, sometimes in grams.

The question became less about who produces yttrium and more about how to get it right now.

Amazon as a Pressure-Release Valve

An unusual coping mechanism has surfaced in plain sight: retail e-commerce.

A review of Amazon listings in January 2026 shows multiple sellers offering yttrium metal and yttrium oxide, often marketed as “educational,” “collection,” or “laboratory” materials. One prominent seller, PFCTECH, lists yttrium products shipped to U.S. customers despite the broader supply squeeze.

Tracing the seller leads to Bao’an District, Fuhai Subdistrict, Junfeng Industrial Park, Junfeng Business Building, Tower A, 5F–H Room, Shenzhen, Guangdong—a known cluster of small technology and materials trading firms, including Shenzhen CONSNANT Technology Co., Ltd.

Other storefronts, such as HQRP Crystal, in some cases follow a similar pattern: Western-facing branding, Chinese-origin logistics, small-lot offerings, and limited transparency on provenance, purity standards, or export licensing.

These are not black-market operations in the criminal sense. But they represent a gray-market workaround—a way for Chinese material to reach Western buyers through consumer platforms rather than industrial channels.

For small buyers, it is often the only option.

Who Is Buying This Way — and Why

Small businesses, startups, university labs, repair shops, and specialty manufacturers typically cannot access institutional brokers or secure long-term offtake contracts. They need flexibility, speed, and small quantities.

Amazon delivers all three.

But at a cost.

• Traceability is weak
• Specifications vary
• Regulatory compliance is unclear
• Pricing is volatile and opaque

Still, when production lines or experiments are on the line, many buyers just might accept such risk.

The Institutional Track: Brokers Still Rule

Larger manufacturers—defense primes, semiconductor equipment makers, turbine suppliers—operate in a different universe. They source yttrium through established rare earth brokers and traders, a network Rare Earth Exchanges has previously documented in North America and Europe. Firms such as G.E. Chaplin, Hefa Rare Earth Canada, and Stanford Materials not to mention some elite brokers, aggregate supply, manage logistics, verify quality, and navigate export controls.

These buyers pay premiums, commit to volumes, and often accept long lead times. But they gain reliability and compliance—critical for regulated industries.

How Buyers Are Coping: A Comparison

What emerges is at least a two-tier yttrium economy—one formal and brokered, the other improvised and retail-driven.

Asia-Pacific Outside China: No Easy Escape

Japan, South Korea, and Australia face similar pressures. While Japan maintains strategic stockpiles and long-term relationships, it is even exposed to yttrium tightness. Australia’s emerging projects are years from scale. South Korea relies heavily on imports and intermediaries.

None offers near-term relief for global markets.

What This Really Signals

The rise of Amazon and other online platform-mediated yttrium sales is not a curiosity—it is a market signal.

It shows:

• Export controls are porous at small scales
• Western buyers lack resilient midstream access
• Transparency remains poor outside institutional channels
• The next three years will be structurally tight

Yttrium is not rare in the ground. But access is rare where it matters: outside China, at scale, and on time.

Until new processing capacity comes online at scale in the late 2020s to early 2030s, the workaround economy will persist. And in that economy, brokers, gray channels, and digital storefronts just may quietly decide who gets to keep building—and who waits. This is despite imminent rule changes such as the Department of Defense rules (opens in a new tab) to avoid all Chinese rare earth magnets by 2027.

• China Northern Rare Earth introduced a 'graded saponification' method at its Gansu facility.
• The method significantly improved separation efficiency, eliminated production volatility, and reduced costs in critical yttrium/holmium-lutetium processing lines without major capital investment.
• The innovation addressed chronic bottlenecks by preventing gel formation in solvent extraction systems.
• It increased organic loading levels and expanded effective separation capacity for medium and heavy rare earths.
• This shop-floor innovation represents a strategic competitive advantage for China.
• It demonstrates China's ability to extract incremental efficiency gains from existing infrastructure in complex heavy rare earth separations.
• The process remains difficult to replicate in the U.S. and Europe.

China’s state-owned rare earth producer China Northern Rare Earth Group has highlighted an internal process innovation that it says significantly improves separation efficiency, lowers operating costs, and stabilizes production in one of its key heavy rare earth lines. The development was disclosed in a January 14 article published through industry channels affiliated with state media.

Gansu Rare Earth-led Initiative

The project—led by frontline engineers at a Gansu Rare Earth processing facility—introduced a “graded saponification” method to address chronic bottlenecks in a yttrium/holmium–lutetium separation line. So graded saponification is a stepwise, chemistry-matched neutralization strategy that fine-tunes solvent extraction systems to boost rare earth separation efficiency, stability, and capacity—especially for heavy rare earths—without major capital investment That line, a critical link in the processing of medium and heavy rare earths, had long struggled with low effective organic loading, unstable phase separation in solvent extraction tanks, and frequent operating disruptions.

According to the report, the team identified the root cause as prolonged low-loading operation in a naphthenic-acid-based extraction system, which led to the formation of gel-like byproducts and cascading operational issues. Rather than pursuing a large-scale equipment overhaul, engineers redesigned the chemical process itself, applying a staged (graded) saponification approach tailored to the specific extraction chemistry.

Claim: Substantial Outcomes

The results, as described by the company, were substantial. Organic loading levels rose sharply, gel formation inside extraction units dropped, and two-phase separation became cleaner and more stable. Production volatility was eliminated, effective separation capacity increased, and overall line stability improved. Downstream benefits included lower inventories of yttrium-rich chloride solutions, reduced oil content in wastewater, and tighter cost control—together translating into measurable economic gains.

Relevance for the West

While this is not a headline-grabbing capacity expansion, it is strategically meaningful. China continues to demonstrate an ability to extract incremental but powerful efficiency gains from existing rare earth infrastructure—particularly in complex heavy rare earth separations that remain difficult to replicate outside China. Process-level innovations like this can quietly expand effective capacity, reduce environmental load, and reinforce China’s cost and reliability advantages without building new plants.

The episode also highlights a broader pattern: Chinese rare earth producers are encouraging bottom-up, shop-floor innovation to fine-tune solvent extraction systems at a granular level. For the U.S. and Europe, where heavy rare earth separation remains a critical vulnerability, these “small” process improvements compound into durable competitive advantages.

Profile

Gansu Rare Earth—often associated with Gansu Rare Earth New Material Co., Ltd.—is a major state-owned rare earth producer based in Baiyin, China, operating within the broader China Northern Rare Earth ecosystem and playing a critical midstream role in the country’s supply chain. The company spans mining, separation, and processing, producing roughly 30,000 tons of rare earth concentrates and about 2,500 tons of metals and alloys annually, with output focused on rare earth oxides, metals, NdFeB magnet precursors, and specialty materials such as scandium-, yttrium-, and lanthanum-based products. Anchored in the Baiyin Liuchuan Industrial District, Gansu Rare Earth is recognized for advancing cleaner extraction and separation technologies supported by a growing patent portfolio, while benefiting from stable upstream access and policy-backed consolidation through partial ownership by the Gansu Provincial State-Owned Asset Investment Group (opens in a new tab). Its materials feed high-performance magnets and hydrogen storage applications used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defense systems, reinforcing China’s strategic control over critical rare earth midstream capacity and high-value magnet supply chains.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from media and industry outlets affiliated with Chinese state-owned entities. The information reported has not been independently verified and should be confirmed through third-party or non-state sources before being relied upon for business, policy, or investment decisions.

• China Central Television named China Northern Rare Earth Group one of ten 2025 New Quality Productive Forces winners—the only rare earth company recognized in a nationally televised gala highlighting next-generation industrial leaders.
• The award reinforces Beijing's strategy to anchor rare earths at the center of advanced manufacturing for semiconductors, EVs, aerospace, and defense, backed by state innovation and capital.
• A nationwide 2026 media campaign follows, underscoring urgency for Western nations to accelerate domestic rare earth processing and materials R&D to counter China's integrated industrial approach.

China’s state broadcaster China Central Television has named China Northern Rare Earth Group as one of ten winners in its nationally televised 2025 New Quality Productive Forces Annual Cases—and the only company from the rare earth sector to make the list. The recognition was announced January 26 during a prime-time gala highlighting firms Beijing sees as exemplars of next-generation industrial capability.

According to the official release (opens in a new tab), Northern Rare Earth was selected for what organizers described as “breakthrough innovation strength,” crediting the company with six decades of progress that helped build China’s rare earth industry “from nothing to global leadership.” The award narrative emphasized the firm’s role in serving national strategic needs through technology-driven upgrades—language closely aligned with Beijing’s industrial policy priorities.

The program framed “new quality productive forces” across three arcs—industrial transformation, acceleration of emerging sectors, and exploration of future industries. Alongside Northern Rare Earth, the featured cases spanned green advanced materials, semiconductor materials, power batteries, space satellites, AI tactile sensing, low-altitude robotics, and smart agriculture. Senior officials, academicians, and industry leaders attended, underscoring the political weight behind the initiative.

Why this matters for Western and U.S. audiences

While the announcement contains no new production numbers or export policy changes, it signals something strategically important. Northern Rare Earth’s elevation on a national stage reinforces Beijing’s intent to anchor rare earths at the center of its advanced manufacturing agenda—particularly materials that feed semiconductors, electric vehicles, aerospace, and defense systems. For Western policymakers and investors, the message is not celebratory but directional: China continues to integrate rare earth supply chains with state-backed innovation, talent, and capital at scale.

The event also launched a nationwide media campaign—“2026 New Quality Productive Forces China Tour”—suggesting sustained promotion and potentially increased policy support for selected firms. For the U.S. and Europe, this underscores the urgency of accelerating domestic rare earth processing, magnet manufacturing, and materials R&D to counter a system where industrial champions are publicly validated and politically reinforced.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinese state-affiliated media and industry associations. All claims should be independently verified using non-state sources before being relied upon for business or investment decisions.

• China has operationalized its first domestically built superconducting, high-temperature vibrating sample magnetometer at the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute.
• This facility enables testing of rare earth magnets at temperatures up to 800°C and magnetic fields of 6 Tesla.
• The new testing infrastructure addresses a critical technical limitation in magnet research.
• It reduces China's reliance on imported research equipment.
• This strengthens vertical integration across the rare earth magnet value chain.
• The capability accumulation, while incremental, shortens R&D cycles for high-performance magnets.
• These magnets are critical to electric vehicles, wind turbines, aerospace, and defense applications.
• Western nations are still working on rebuilding supply chain depth in these areas.

What is a magnetometer? Does this mark a quiet upgrade in Chinese magnet R&D capability?

China has put into operation its first domestically built superconducting, high-temperature vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute, according to state-affiliated media. In simple terms, this is a new scientific instrument that allows Chinese researchers to test rare-earth permanent magnets under much hotter conditions and stronger magnetic fields than before, using equipment built entirely with domestic components. While not a production breakthrough, it represents a meaningful upgrade to China’s materials research infrastructure.

Breaking the Measurement Barrier in High-Temperature Magnet Research

The new instrument addresses a long-standing technical limitation in rare earth magnet research: the difficulty of measuring magnetic performance simultaneously at high temperatures and high magnetic fields. Most magnetic testing equipment used in rare earth magnet manufacturing relies on conventional electromagnets, which typically cap magnetic field strength at about 3 Tesla. More advanced superconducting systems do exist, but they are usually designed for low-temperature physics experiments, often lack high-temperature measurement modules, and have historically been expensive systems dominated by foreign suppliers.

According to the announcement, the newly deployed system uses a superconducting magnet as its excitation source, enabling magnetic fields of up to 6 Tesla while supporting measurement temperatures as high as 800°C. The system is described as offering improved measurement sensitivity, faster testing speeds, wider temperature coverage, and greater operational flexibility compared with conventional setups. These features allow researchers to test a broader range of samples more efficiently and with higher precision.

Testing Power Is Industrial Power: Strengthening China’s Magnet Supply Chain from the Lab Up

From a business and strategic perspective, the development is incremental but relevant. High-performance permanent magnets are critical inputs for electric vehicles, wind turbines, aerospace systems, robotics, and certain defense applications. Designing magnets that retain performance at elevated operating temperatures requires reliable high-temperature magnetic characterization. By expanding its domestic testing capabilities, China could reduce reliance on imported research equipment and shorten the feedback loop between laboratory research, materials design, and industrial quality control.

Implications for the West

For Western firms and policymakers, the significance lies less in immediate market impact and more in capability accumulation. Advanced testing infrastructure supports faster R&D cycles and stronger vertical integration—areas where the U.S. and Europe are still working to rebuild depth across the rare earth magnet value chain.

The system is expected to support both fundamental research and applied industrial testing, providing data for new rare earth material development and product quality assurance.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from media affiliated with a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Technical claims, performance specifications, and strategic implications should be independently verified through third-party sources, peer-reviewed publications, or commercial disclosures before being relied upon for investment, policy, or procurement decisions.

• Northern China Rare Earth forecasts 2025 net profit of $3.0-3.3 billion, up 117-135% year-over-year.
• Growth driven by cost cuts, inventory reduction, and increased production across rare earth metals, magnets, and functional materials.
• New green mining facilities and 50,000-ton alloy plants are now operational, with Phase II construction underway.
• Phase II construction signals accelerated vertical integration and commercialization of advanced rare earth technologies.
• The earnings surge and capacity expansion widen China's dominance in clean-tech supply chains.
• Potentially outpacing Western efforts to build independent rare earth separation and magnet manufacturing capacity.

Northern China Rare Earth has announced (opens in a new tab) a major earnings surge for 2025, projecting net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 21.76–23.56 billion (approximately $3.0–3.3 billion USD), representing a year-over-year increase of 116.7% to 134.6%. Net profit excluding non-recurring items is expected to rise even faster, up 117.5% to 137.4%, underscoring the company's portrayal of structurally improved profitability rather than one-off gains.

Pivotal  Plus Profits

Management frames 2025 as a pivotal year—the final year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan—and positions the company as a flagship executor of national industrial policy. The earnings growth is attributed to tighter budget discipline, aggressive cost reductions, integrated production scheduling, and a sharper market-oriented sales strategy. Notably, the company reports that, for the first time in several years, annual sales of lanthanum and cerium exceeded production, materially reducing inventories—an important signal that excess light rare-earth supply is being absorbed.

Across core segments—separation, rare earth metals, functional materials, and permanent magnet motors—both output and sales volumes reportedly increased year over year. These materials are explicitly tied to new energy vehicles, energy efficiency, and decarbonization, reinforcing China’s strategic grip on clean-tech supply chains.

Perhaps most consequential for Western observers are the capacity expansions now coming online. Phase I of a next-generation “green” rare earth mining and smelting upgrade has fully entered operation, while Phase II is already under construction.

More Magnet Production

Meanwhile, downstream consolidation is accelerating: new alloy, magnet, and recycling projects—including a 50,000-ton magnetic alloy facility and a 3,000-ton magnet plant—have begun operations. Several previously “research-stage” technologies are now reported to be in scaled commercial production.

R&D Reform

The company also emphasizes reforms to its R&D system, highlighting new processes, equipment, and products aimed at moving China’s rare earth industry further up the value chain, away from commodity oxides and toward high-margin, application-specific materials.

Why this matters for the U.S. and Europe: this update signals not just higher profits, but tightening operational control, faster commercialization, and deeper vertical integration across China’s rare earth ecosystem. For Western policymakers and manufacturers still struggling to build independent magnet and separation capacity, the gap may be widening rather than closing.

The figures disclosed are preliminary and subject to revision upon release of the audited 2025 annual report.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinese state-owned media affiliated with a state-owned enterprise. Financial and operational claims should be independently verified using audited filings, third-party market data, and non-state sources before being relied upon for investment or policy decisions.

• Gansu Rare Earth resolved critical production bottlenecks to deliver 100 tons of high-density cerium oxide with strict specifications.
• Achieved 100% first-pass yield through process engineering upgrades including dual-layer reactors and temperature stabilization systems.
• The breakthrough demonstrates China's shift from commodity rare earth output to customized, high-specification products that lock in downstream clients and improve margins.
• Reinforces advantages in process engineering beyond raw material supply.
• Gansu Rare Earth Group, controlled by state-owned China Rare Earth Group, operates as a strategic processing hub producing light and specialty rare earths.
• Focuses on heavy R&D investment, vertical integration, and automation as part of China's coordinated national rare earth system.

China’s Gansu Rare Earth has reported a technical breakthrough in the production of differentiated, high-bulk-density cerium oxide (CeO₂), successfully resolving a long-standing process bottleneck that threatened delivery of a 100-ton customized order with unusually strict specifications. The development was disclosed by state-owned parent Baogang Group via company-affiliated media.

According to the report, Gansu Rare Earth previously struggled to meet the customer’s requirements using existing processes. Production runs suffered from large fluctuations in bulk density, and precipitation tanks required full cleaning every two to three batches, undermining operating stability, product consistency, and safety. These constraints made reliable fulfillment of the order commercially risky.

Solving the Problem

Toaddress the issue, the company launched a targeted technical overhaul. Engineers conducted multiple test cycles using dual-layer, high- and low-temperature glass reactors to pinpoint preparation parameters that met the customer’s high-density requirements. In parallel, the production line was modified: a key cerium precipitation tank was retrofitted with annular cooling pipes and a dual-layer heating system, stabilizing reaction temperatures and enabling consistent density control. Technical staff remained embedded on the production line throughout the transition, ensuring laboratory improvements translated into repeatable industrial performance.

After several days of stable operation, the team further optimized upstream process controls to address liquid-level fluctuations caused by raw-material variability.

Result of Production Changes

The result, the company says, was a fully stabilized process. First-pass yield reportedly rose to 100%, cleaning frequency was eliminated, safety risks were reduced, and all product specifications were met—allowing the order to proceed on schedule.

Why this matters for the U.S. and the West

Cerium oxide is widely used in polishing powders, catalysts, glass manufacturing, electronics, and automotive applications, and is often viewed as a lower-value, oversupplied light rare earth. This development highlights how Chinese producers are moving beyond commodity output toward tightly specified, customer-driven rare earth products, improving margins and locking in downstream clients.

If the claimed results hold under independent verification, the breakthrough reinforces China’s advantage not just in rare earth supply, but in process engineering and customized production at scale.

For Western manufacturers seeking alternative suppliers, the episode underscores a challenge: competitiveness increasingly depends on consistent quality, tailored specifications, and production reliability, not simply access to raw materials. It also raises questions about whether non-Chinese producers can match this level of process control without comparable scale and sustained investment.

Gansu Rare Earth’s Role and Ownership

Gansu Rare Earth refers to the rare earth mining, separation, and advanced materials complex centered in Gansu Province, a strategically important inland hub within China’s rare earth ecosystem. The region plays a critical midstream and downstream role, linking raw material extraction to high-value products such as rare earth oxides, metals, and magnet precursors, including inputs for NdFeB permanent magnets used in EVs, wind turbines, electronics, and defense systems.

Ownership and Control:

Gansu Rare Earth Group is owned and controlled by China Rare Earth Group Co., Ltd., a centrally directed state-owned enterprise established in 2021 to consolidate and control China’s rare earth supply chain—particularly in processing, separation, and advanced materials. China Rare Earth Group itself is supervised by China’s central government (SASAC) and works in close coordination with other state champions, such as China Northern Rare Earth, to ensure coordinated raw material supply, technology sharing, and policy alignment.

Key Characteristics and Strategic Significance

Strategic Processing Hub:

Gansu functions as a vital processing and materials center, converting rare earth concentrates into reinforcing China’s dominance beyond mining alone.

Major Producer of Light & Specialty Rare Earths:

The province produces significant volumes of cerium, lanthanum, scandium, yttrium, and other rare earth products, many of which are increasingly being customized for higher-margin industrial applications rather than sold as bulk commodities.

Vertical Integration:

Gansu Rare Earth Group is deeply integrated within China’s national rare earth system, coordinating upstream feedstock and downstream customers through China Rare Earth Group’s centralized planning and quota mechanisms.

Technology & R&D Focus:

Heavy investment is directed toward process optimization, separation efficiency, alloy development, and product differentiation, supporting China’s technological edge in rare earth manufacturing.

“Green Mine” and Automation Push:

Gansu is a pilot region for China’s “intelligent green mine” initiative, emphasizing automation, digital monitoring, environmental compliance, and high recovery rates. Provincial targets aim for 90% of large mines to meet green standards by 2028.

Gansu’s evolution illustrates how China is tightening control

Not just over supply volumes, but over quality, customization, and standards in rare earth products. For Western competitors, the challenge is structural: China’s advantage increasingly lies in process engineering, vertical integration, and state-backed coordination, making it difficult to compete by reopening mines alone. As Gansu moves further into differentiated, high-spec materials, China’s grip on global rare earth value chains—and pricing power—continues to strengthen.

Disclaimer: This summary is based on information released by Chinese state-owned enterprises and affiliated media. Technical claims, production yields, and commercial implications should be independently verified through third-party or non-Chinese sources before being relied upon for investment, procurement, or policy decisions.

• China's official Rare Earth Price Index rose to 242.7 on January 26, 2026—more than 2.4× the 2010 baseline—signaling a structural repricing driven by tighter export controls, producer consolidation, and accelerating global demand for magnet-intensive technologies.
• Heavy and magnet-critical rare earths lead price momentum:
  • Terbium remains extremely tight at ¥13,950–14,350/kg
  • NdPr showed incremental strength to ¥677–697/kg for mixed oxide
  • Dysprosium softened slightly due to inventory normalization rather than weakening demand
• The index trajectory reinforces urgent supply chain risks for Western OEMs dependent on Chinese rare earths, particularly for high-performance permanent magnets used in EVs, wind turbines, defense, and aerospace—highlighting the critical need for ex-China processing, recycling, and manufacturing capacity.

China’s official Rare Earth Price Index (opens in a new tab) rose to 242.7 on January 26, 2026, according to data released by the Association of China Rare Earth Industry. The index—benchmarked to a 2010 base year of 100 and calculated from daily transaction averages across more than 20 Chinese rare earth producers—continues an upward trend that began in mid-2025. The pattern increasingly resembles a structural re-pricing rather than a short-term cyclical rebound.

Price Momentum: Heavy Rare Earths Lead

Product-level pricing confirms that heavy and magnet-critical rare earths remain the primary drivers, while light rare earths are broadly stable:

• Dysprosium (Dy) softened slightly:
  • Dy₂O₃: ¥6,245–6,305/kg (≈ $867–876/kg)
  • Dy metal: ¥7,730–7,830/kg (≈ $1,074–1,088/kg)
    This appears driven by short-term inventory normalization rather than weakening demand.
• Terbium (Tb) remains extremely tight:
  • Tb₄O₇: ¥13,950–14,350/kg (≈ $1,937–1,993/kg), underscoring continued scarcity in ultra-critical magnet inputs.
• Holmium (Ho) and Erbium (Er) prices were largely unchanged, signaling stable demand from specialty magnet, laser, and electronics applications.
• Neodymium–Praseodymium (NdPr) showed incremental strength:
  • Mixed rare earth oxide (Nd₂O₃ 75%): ¥677–697/kg (≈ $94–97/kg)
  • Nd-rich alloy: ¥825–845/kg (≈ $115–117/kg)
    Gains reflect sustained downstream magnet demand tied to EVs, wind turbines, robotics, and automation.
  • Note: The USA federal government established $110 per/kg for NdPr for MP Materials—the Trump administration has signaled that other companies may benefit from such a pricing floor.
• Gadolinium (Gd) products and samarium/cobalt-linked materials also firmed, reinforcing a key REEx theme: defense, aerospace, nuclear, and high-temperature magnet applications are exerting outsized pricing influence.

What the Index Is Signaling

At 242.7, the index implies that average rare earth prices are more than 2.4× their 2010 baseline, even before inflation adjustment. The steady climb since late 2025 aligns with:

• tighter export and compliance controls,
• consolidation among licensed producers,
• accelerating global demand for magnet-intensive technologies, and
• early signs of strategic and precautionary stockpiling.

Why This Matters for Western Markets

For U.S. and allied supply chains, the signal is unambiguous: China’s domestic pricing power is strengthening, particularly in Dy, Tb, NdPr, and mixed oxides essential for high-performance permanent magnets. OEMs dependent on spot or short-term contracts face rising cost volatility and supply leverage, while the index trajectory reinforces the urgency of ex-China processing, recycling, and magnet manufacturing capacity.

Disclaimer: This price review is based on data published by the Association of China Rare Earth Industry, a China-based, state-influenced industry body. Prices, FX assumptions, index methodology, and market interpretations should be independently verified using third-party, non-Chinese sources before being relied upon for investment, procurement, or policy decisions.

• In 2025, Jiangxi's non-ferrous metals industry surpassed ¥1 trillion in revenue.
• This achievement marks Jiangxi's second trillion-yuan industrial cluster.
• The growth is attributed to aggressive supply-chain integration and technology upgrades under the '1269' industrial modernization plan.
• The province is a leader in rare earths (Ganzhou) and copper production, with a cluster worth over ¥600 billion.
• Innovations such as 3.5-micron battery foil have increased margins from $15/ton to $1,400/ton.
• Unmanned smelting has reduced costs by 10% while increasing productivity by 30%.
• Jiangxi's vertical integration spans mining, processing, advanced materials, and automation.
• This integration has increased Western exposure in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and defense systems.
• There's an underscored urgency for non-Chinese capacity in critical materials due to Jiangxi's dominance.

China’s inland province of Jiangxi has crossed a major industrial threshold: in 2025, its non-ferrous metals industry generated more than ¥1 trillion (≈$140 billion) in revenue, becoming the province’s second trillion-yuan industrial cluster after electronics. The milestone reflects a structural shift from raw resource extraction toward higher-value manufacturing in copper, tungsten, and rare earths, according to a report carried by state-affiliated media.

Drivers: Industrial Policy--“1269” Industrialization Modernization Plan

The transformation was driven by aggressive supply-chain integration, technology upgrading, and policy coordination under Jiangxi’s “1269” industrial modernization plan. Over the past five years, industry scale expanded by more than ¥200 billion, signaling resilience in what was once a low-margin, resource-dependent sector.

A central pillar is rare earths, anchored in Ganzhou (opens in a new tab)—often called China’s “Rare Earth Kingdom.” By building dense upstream-to-downstream clusters and attracting anchor firms, Jiangxi now hosts a fully integrated rare-earth value chain, spanning oxides, metals, permanent magnets, motors, and high-end equipment.

State-Owned Enterprises

With China Rare Earth Group acting as the lead enterprise, the region’s rare-earth new-materials and applications cluster has been elevated to national advanced-manufacturing status.

Copper is the other growth engine. By integrating production across Yingtan, Shangrao, Fuzhou, and Nanchang, Jiangxi has built a ¥600+ billion copper-based new-materials cluster capable of producing more than 90% of global copper and copper-alloy grades. High-end copper products now represent over 63% of output, with multiple products holding global or domestic market-share leadership. Provincial planners aim to push the cluster past ¥1 trillion in revenue by 2027, tightly coupling copper materials with EVs, clean energy, and advanced equipment.

Innovation & Profits

Innovation is changing margins. Battery-grade copper foil producers in Jiangxi have pushed thickness to 3.5 microns, enabling profit per ton to jump from roughly $15 for basic copper wire to over $1,400 for lithium-battery foil. At the processing level, Jiangxi Copper’s Guixi smelter now runs the world’s first fully unmanned copper-anode production line, cutting costs and energy use by ~10% while lifting productivity 30%. Several core performance metrics now rank global best-in-class.

Upstream innovation matters too. Jiangxi-based magnetic-separation equipment—exported globally—now recovers high-grade titanium and other metals from tailings at a massive scale, underscoring China’s growing advantage in materials recovery and process equipment.

Why Worry in the West?

Jiangxi’s rise shows how China is locking in advantage across critical materials supply chains, not just mining but processing, advanced materials, automation, and standards-ready manufacturing.

This means that for the U.S. and allies, this deepens exposure in EVs, batteries, power electronics, and defense-relevant systems, reinforcing the urgency of building non-Chinese copper, rare-earth processing, and advanced-materials capacity.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinese state-affiliated media and enterprises. All figures, performance claims, and policy impacts should be independently verified through non-Chinese or third-party sources before being used for investment, policy, or strategic decision-making.