Baotou in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region boasts the world's largest reserves of rare earth and the highest capacity for rare earth refining and separation, giving it an absolute advantage in the supply of raw materials.

In October 2023, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development in Inner Mongolia to Strive for a New Chapter of Chinese Modernization", which outlined plans to develop a rare earth new material base and a rare earth application base in Baotou.

Over the past year, seven of China's top 10 magnet material companies have established branches in Baotou, with the city's rare earth output growing from 67.75 billion yuan ($9.34 billion) in 2022 to 82.9 billion yuan in 2023.

The city now hosts 209 rare earth enterprises, 85 industrial enterprises above designated size, and 70 national high-tech enterprises, respective increases of 30, 22, and 20 compared to 2022.

Throughout the year, Baotou has focused on building the largest rare earth new material base in China, continuously expanding its capacity and increasing the production of new materials. In 2023, the production of new rare earth materials reached nearly 100,000 metric tons, the most in the country.

Additionally, China's first rare earth new materials technological innovation center began operating in Baotou last year, and a rare earth steel production base was established there in 2023, with an expected annual output of 1.35 million tons.

The National Rare Earth New Materials Technological Innovation Center is located in Baotou. [Photo/WeChat account of Baotou Daily]

Baotou is fully committed to creating a national advanced manufacturing cluster for new rare earth materials, with the rare earth industry's output expected to exceed 100 billion yuan within the year.