Highlights

• Baogang Group, a state-owned steel and rare earth enterprise, celebrates PLA's 98th anniversary.
• The company highlights its deep ties to national defense and military veterans.
• Emphasizes commitment to civil-military integration.
• Aligns with President Xi Jinping's military modernization agenda.
• Plays a critical role in producing rare earth materials essential for advanced military technologies.
• Showcases China's strategic industrial-military ecosystem.

In a ceremonial letter marking the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Baogang Group, one of China’s largest state-owned steel and rare earth enterprises, reaffirmed its deep ties to national defense, military veterans, and strategic dual-use industrial capabilities. Issued by the company's Party Committee, Veteran Affairs Office, and Civil-Military Support Leadership Group, the statement praises the contributions of militia members, veterans, and military families within Baogang’s ranks. It highlights their central role in emergency response operations, including flood control, disaster relief, and crisis management—positions where Baogang employees and veterans have “charged to the front line” during high-risk situations.

The letter also underscores Baogang’s ideological alignment with President Xi Jinping’s military modernization agenda and national cohesion strategy. It references directives from the recent 20th Party Congress, including Xi’s guidance on “building the consciousness of the Chinese national community” and “strengthening the two rare earth bases”—a term widely interpreted to mean Baogang (Inner Mongolia) and Jiangxi’s magnet production ecosystem.

While largely ceremonial in tone, the message signals deeper alignment between Baogang’s industrial operations and China’s defense-industrial complex. The company commits to advancing both “enterprise reform” and “dual-support (civil-military integration)” initiatives, contributing to Baotou’s continued title as a “National Model City for Military-Civil Unity”, a title it has now held for ten consecutive terms.

For Western observers, this letter is more than internal morale-boosting—it’s an ideological blueprint for how state-owned enterprises like Baogang are tightly woven into China's national security strategy. As Baogang plays a lead role in producing rare earth materials essential for missiles, drones, and next-generation radar systems, its alignment with the PLA and the central government illustrates the strategic entanglement of China’s industrial base and its military ambitions.

REEx Key takeaway

While the U.S. separates defense contractors from civilian manufacturers, China tends to fuse them—culturally, ideologically, and operationally. Baogang’s reaffirmation of its military ties should be read not just as tradition, but as a signal of the state's long-term intent to mobilize rare earth supply chains in support of both industrial modernization and national defense.

Source: Baogang Group (opens in a new tab)