Highlights

• China Rare Earth Group is accelerating rare earth recycling focus through Shanghai Yuli Technology, its only enterprise dedicated to secondary resource utilization and comprehensive rare earth materials reprocessing.
• Leadership emphasized 2026 as a pivotal year for rare earth industrial policy, calling for scaled recycling infrastructure, increased R&D investment, and expanded green manufacturing capabilities.
• China's expanding recycling capacity could create a closed-loop supply system recovering rare earths from end-of-life products, further reinforcing its dominance over Western supply chain rebuilding efforts.

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One of Beijing’s state-backed rare earth consolidation vehicles— China Rare Earth Group- appears to be accelerating its focus on recycling and secondary resource processing, according to a March 6 leadership inspection visit to Shanghai Yuli Technology Co., Ltd. (Yuli Technology), a company specializing in rare earth secondary resource utilization.

Li Zhihui (opens in a new tab), Deputy Party Secretary, Director, and General Manager of China Rare Earth Group, toured Yuli Technology’s exhibition facilities and production lines to review progress in process innovation, safety management, and resource recycling technologies. During the visit, Li met with frontline managers and employees to assess operational conditions and gather information on the company’s developmentneeds.

At a subsequent meeting, Yuli Technology executives briefed Li on production operations, reform initiatives, and organizational development. Li praised the company’s recent progress and emphasized that 2026 marks the opening year of China’s next Five-Year planning cycle, highlighting a new phase of industrial policy priorities for the rare earth sector.

Yuli Technology holds a distinctive role within China Rare Earth Group. According to the report, it is the conglomerate’s only enterprise dedicated specifically to the comprehensive utilization of secondary rare earth resources, including recycling and reprocessing rare earth materials. The company also chairs the Resource Comprehensive Utilization Branch of the China Rare Earth Industry Association, suggesting it is positioned as a national leader in rare-earth circular-economy initiatives.

Li called for accelerated construction of key projects and urged the company to move quickly toward full operational capacity. He also emphasized increasing research and development investment, strengthening supply-chain coordination with upstream and downstream partners, optimizing product and cost structures, and expanding “green and intelligent” manufacturing capabilities.

Implications

Taken together, the messaging reinforces a broader strategic theme emerging from Beijing: rare earth recycling and secondary resource utilization are becoming increasingly important pillars of China’s supply-chain security strategy. Rare Earth Exchanges has featured the notable advancement of China Northern Rare Earth Group's recycling efforts as well.

For Western policymakers and investors, the implications are significant. China already dominates global rare earth separation, refining, and magnet manufacturing. Expanding recycling capacity could further reinforce that position by creating a closed-loop supply system capable of recovering rare earth elements from end-of-life magnets, electronics, and industrial materials.

Although the report does not announce specific production targets or technological breakthroughs, its emphasis on scaling recycling infrastructure suggests that Beijing is working to integrate mining, processing, manufacturing, and recycling into a unified rare-earth ecosystem.  According to Rare Earth Exchanges™ ongoing assessment, this effort is inherently woven into the 15th 5-year plan demand generation activity—including so-called greenification and digitization, inclusive of robotics, humanoid, and AI advancements, with a concentration in urban corridors.

For the United States and Europe—both seeking to rebuild independent rare-earth supply chains—the development underscores China's structural advantage under its vertically integrated industrial strategy.

Disclaimer: This report is based on information published by Chinese industry associations and entities connected to state-owned enterprises. The claims and implications described should be independently verified before being relied upon for investment or policy analysis.