Highlights

• Baogang Group hosted a ceremony establishing two new National Traditional Education Bases in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.
• The event showcased the deep connection between China's rare earth industry, state-owned enterprises, and political organizations.
• The ceremony underscores China's strategic approach to positioning rare earths as central to national identity and industrial development.

Baogang Group—the state-owned industrial giant that anchors China’s rare earth industry—hosted a high-profile unveiling ceremony (opens in a new tab) on July 10th at two of its sites in Baotou, Inner Mongolia: the Baotou Rare Earth Museum and the Bayan Obo Mine History Exhibition Hall. The events marked the establishment of two new National Traditional Education Bases by the Jiusan Society, a Chinese political organization affiliated with the ruling Communist Party and composed primarily of scientists, engineers, and intellectuals.

The ceremony featured top national and regional political figures, including Liu Xiaomei, a Vice Chair of the Jiusan Society and Standing Committee Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Meng Fanying, Chair of Baogang Group. Liu emphasized that these education centers are part of the Jiusan Society’s 80th anniversary celebration and are designed to “preserve patriotic traditions, strengthen ideological work, and deepen scientific collaboration” between the Party and China’s strategic industries, including rare earths.

Baogang Chair Meng Fanying stated that the group “will strive to be both a steward of red [revolutionary] heritage and a leader in the development of China’s rare earth industry,” and praised the long-standing ties between the Jiusan Society and Baogang as emblematic of China’s united front model. She called for deeper collaboration with Jiusan experts to guide Baogang’s future development and industrial upgrading.

Strategic Implications, Meanings

While framed as a cultural and political ceremony, this event underscores the deep integration of China’s rare earth sector with state-led political and ideological institutions. The West should take note:

• Soft Power Meets Industrial Strategy: China continues to fuse nationalism, industrial development, and scientific prestige to anchor its dominance in rare earths—something notably absent in Western industrial policy.
• Baogang’s Influence: As the operator of the world’s largest rare earth deposit at Bayan Obo, Baogang’s alignment with elite political societies like Jiusan ensures continued state support and policy protection.
• Narrative Control: By turning the Baotou Rare Earth Museum and mine site intoideological education bases, China reinforces the narrative that rare earths are central to its national identity and development goals—embedding them deeper into the fabric of Chinese power.

As the U.S. and its allies scramble to build “ex-China” rare earth supply chains, this move is a reminder: China’s competitive advantage is not just geological or technical—it’s institutional, cultural, and deeply strategic, and we do not underestimate such confluence of geopolitical and societal forces.

Source: Baogang Daily, July 11, 2025

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