Highlights

• China's Northern Rare Earth Group reports record 2024 exports, capturing 24.5% of national rare earth shipments
• New export destinations include:
  • Vietnam
  • South Korea
  • Russia
  • European countries
• 60% growth from new customers
• Strategic implications highlight:
  • China's continued control over rare earth supply chains
  • Advanced technological innovations

In a major development for global rare earth markets, China’s state-owned Northern Rare Earth Group (Baogang) announced (opens in a new tab) that its 2024 exports surged to historic highs, with rare earth raw materials and advanced functional products shipped to more than 20 countries and regions. According to company disclosures in Baogang Daily, the firm accounted for nearly a quarter (24.5%) of China’s total rare earth exports, registering a 19.7% year-over-year increase in raw material shipments.

New export destinations included Vietnam, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Italy, the UK, and France, with new customers accounting for 60% of that growth. Sales of functional materials and end-use applications—including magnetic and polishing compounds—rose by 3% year-over-year, with strong demand from East Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This performance reinforces China’s dominant position in the global rare earth supply chain.

Strategic Implications for the U.S. and Allies

Baogang’s success underscores China’s sustained control over both upstream raw materials and downstream rare earth technologies. Particularly notable is the breakthrough in medium and heavy rare earth exports, long seen as a chokepoint due to their importance in defense, green energy, and high-performance computing. These developments closely follow China’s newly imposed export controls on critical rare earth elements like dysprosium and terbium—materials vital for U.S. missile guidance systems, EV motors, and advanced semiconductors.

The rise of customized neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) bonded magnetic powders and high-precision polishing compounds further solidifies China’s lead in value-added rare earth innovation. Baogang subsidiaries reportedly developed five new polishing products in 2024 alone, catering to hyperscale data centers and edge computing clients—segments critical to U.S. cloud infrastructure and AI competitiveness.

Final Thoughts

As Baogang expands its global footprint and technical sophistication, the data signals growing geopolitical and industrial risks for Western nations heavily dependent on Chinese rare earth supply chains. With China tightening export controls and surging in global market share, the need for U.S. and allied nations to diversify sources, onshore processing capacity, and invest in alternative supply ecosystems has never been more urgent.