Highlights

• China Minmetals launches a comprehensive advance into western China's salt lake resource belt.
• Focus areas include lithium, magnesium, and green metals production.
• The company strengthens national resource security strategy through:
  • Vertical integration
  • Political backing
  • Coordinated industrial execution
• Minmetals demonstrates China's leadership in critical mineral supply chains.
• Positions itself as a state-commanded industrial powerhouse with global strategic ambitions.

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In a sweeping demonstration of state-backed industrial coordination, China Minmetals Corporation (opens in a new tab) has launched a full-scale advance into western China’s salt lake resource belt, reaffirming its strategic commitment to lithium, magnesium, and green metals production, while deepening alliances with both Qinghai Province and China Logistics Group.

On June 26, Minmetals Chairman Chen Dexin and President Zhu Kebing led a high-profile inspection of Qinghai’s Chaerhan Salt Lake, tracing the steps of President Xi Jinping’s 2016 tour. The visit focused on safety compliance, resource integration, and fast-tracking flagship projects like the 40,000-ton basic lithium salt project, 20,000-ton lithium carbonate line, and magnesium metal integration base. Chen called for high-quality, high-efficiency execution across all operations and urged adoption of lean systems such as the Amoeba Business Model to unlock new gains in productivity and circular resource utilization.

Echoing Xi’s directive for “world-class salt lake enterprises,” Chen emphasized Minmetals’ role in safeguarding China’s food, energy, and resource security, pushing for project synergies through its vertically integrated metal ecosystem. During a strategy meeting, the leadership greenlit a new planning framework for the 15th Five-Year Plan and called for full-scale mobilization of group resources to support technical breakthroughs in magnesium metallurgy.

Minmetals' ambitions were also front and center at the 26th China Qinghai Green Development Investment and Trade Fair, where Zhu Kebing reaffirmed Minmetals’ alignment with national strategy and regional development. He announced expanded investment across Qinghai’s “four industrial zones,” positioning the region as a strategic highland in China’s green supply chain. “This once-remote region is now a hotbed for innovation,” Zhu noted, calling for all-around cooperation in lithium, rare earths, and advanced materials.

In parallel, Minmetals strengthened ties with China Logistics Group, with Zhu meeting Chairman Liu Jingzhen to map out enhanced collaboration on mineral logistics, futures delivery, online freight, and bulk commodity warehousing. The goal: fortify China’s mineral supply chain resilience from mine to port.

Competitive Stakes for the West

These developments reinforce China’s overwhelming lead in strategic mineral integration. While the U.S. recently unveiled a major DoD-backed deal with MP Materials to build domestic magnet capacity by 2028, Minmetals is already commissioning industrial-scale lithium and magnesium complexes now, powered by a seamless blend of political backing, financial leverage, and regional execution.  In addition to the rare earth element supply chain, America will have to ramp up its critical mineral resilience strategy.

Bottom Line

The contrast couldn’t be sharper. China Minmetals is not just building mines—it’s building an ecosystem, fusing industrial scale with political strategy and operational discipline. Western efforts, while ramping up, still face fragmented supply chains and longer lead times. As China hardens its grip on critical materials, the global competition for resource dominance is not slowing—it’s accelerating.

Company Profile

China Minmetals Corporation, founded in 1950, is a central state-owned enterprise and one of China’s metals and minerals conglomerates. Its business spans mining, smelting, logistics, metallurgy, engineering, financial services, and real estate. Minmetals plays a central role in implementing China’s national resource security and industrial modernization agenda.

China Minmetals Corporation is a central state-owned enterprise under China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (opens in a new tab) (SASAC), meaning it is 100% owned by the Chinese central government. Based in Beijing, Minmetals oversees a vast portfolio covering metals, minerals, engineering, finance, logistics, and real estate, with operations spanning more than 30 countries (some sources suggest over 60).

The company maintains a hierarchical structure in which wholly-owned subsidiaries like China Metallurgical Group Corporation (CMGC)—which itself controls the listed engineering arm MCC—advance its global ambitions. Additionally, Minmetals holds majority stakes in global mining ventures (e.g., ~68% of MMG Limited) through its Hong Kong–based arms. This centralized ownership model enables coordinated multi-industry strategy, facilitating large-scale investments in strategic sectors like lithium, magnesium, and rare earths, most notably through its flagship China Salt Lake Industry venture in Qinghai.

In short, China Minmetals is a state-commanded industrial powerhouse, directly controlled by the Chinese government, with integrated assets and capital flows aligned to national priorities, far surpassing the fragmented, market-driven model typical in Western resource sectors.