Is Baogang Group (and by extension the Chinese State) Preparing for Economic War?

Highlights

• China’s Baogang Group outlines an urgent, innovation-driven strategy for critical minerals and industrial metals development.
• State-controlled industrial acceleration positions China to maintain dominance in rare earth and critical mineral sectors.
• West faces a strategic challenge in developing independent supply chains against China’s coordinated, government-backed approach.

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Baogang Group (Baotou Iron & Steel Group) released a press release (opens in a new tab) outlining its strategic direction for 2025, emphasizing urgency, innovation, and aggressive development. The meeting, held immediately after the Chinese New Year, signals a rapid return to work and reflects the company’s broader commitment to achieving its annual goals as part of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. Again, this plan, which spans 2021 to 2025, is all about Chinese industrial power and economic strength.

Interpreting the artifact, the message is one of mobilization and urgency, positioning Baogang at a critical juncture where it must transition from foundational preparation to full-scale competition in all domains. Clearly, the message from the West is resonating. This reflects China’s broader industrial strategy: optimizing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for efficiency and competitiveness in an increasingly complex global landscape. America is increasingly recognizing its strategic weakness in the rare earth and critical mineral sector.

Importantly, Baogang Group’s news release underscores a sense of military-style mobilization (“擂响战鼓再出发” – “beating the war drums again”), reinforcing that Baogang is racing against time to meet its targets. The company is not merely setting goals but treating their execution as a high-stakes battle for survival and growth. Remember, as Rare Earth Exchanges have chronicled, rare earth and critical mineral monopolies represent a fundamental prerequisite for Chinese economic ascendancy.

Targeted training and leadership alignment becomes of paramount importance in the economic war.  The three-day seminar was held with leading discussions from top executives, supplemented by external expert insights. This highlights a deliberate strategy to align leadership and workforce mindset with broader national and industrial objectives.

Citing this period as one of a critical nature, Baogang acknowledges that it is moving from foundation-building to high-intensity market competition, emphasizing innovation, technology, and industrial transformation. The company’s “window of opportunity” suggests that the coming months and years will be decisive for long-term positioning.  It is absolutely fundamental for the United States to start its move to embrace, refine, harden, and execute its own critical mineral and rare earth strategies.

But China has something the U.S. does not: a heavily invested state. Yes, a government-driven industrial strategy.  The emphasis on “抓早” (early action), “科技创新” (technological innovation), and “绿色发展” (green development) aligns with national policy priorities, showing that Baogang is fully integrating itself into China’s state-driven economic blueprint.  The ideology of American leaders makes it very difficult to truly understand this phenomenon in a way that’s well, palpable, and real, which leads to the transformation of policy, strategy, and action.

What are the Implications for the West and Rare Earth Supply Chains?

First and foremost, it’s clear that China will not slow down in the rare earth and critical mineral sector.  Despite geopolitical tensions and Western efforts to build alternative supply chains, Baogang’s messaging makes it clear that China remains fully committed to expanding its dominance in critical materials and industrial metals. The push for innovation and transformation suggests further mining, processing, and material science advancements that will reinforce China’s grip on key supply chains.

Then, there is State-controlled industrial acceleration. Baogang, a major player in China’s steel and rare earth industries, operates not as a private entity but as an arm of state strategy. This makes Western free-market approaches inherently disadvantaged. China’s vertically integrated and government-supported model allows it to subsidize, optimize, and dominate markets at a speed Western companies cannot easily match.

Furthermore, the emphasis on agility, rapid execution, and strategic alignment suggests that China is prepared to respond dynamically to any global supply chain disruptions. If the West continues to struggle with permitting delays, environmental regulations, and fragmented industrial policies, China will consolidate its lead even further, making it harder for the U.S. and its allies to develop a truly independent rare earth supply chain.

This “Military-Industrial” mindset – the language used (“擂响战鼓” – “beating war drums,” “决战” – “decisive battle”) suggests that China sees industrial competition, particularly in materials critical for defense and technology, as a high-stakes contest that demands national coordination. This war-time mentality contrasts sharply with the West’s slower, market-driven response.  Yes, President Trump is talking tough and, in some cases, raising more than eyebrows (e.g., Greenland, Canada, etc.), but what’s the delta between such talk, action, and actual outcomes? Only time will tell.

Rare Earth Exchanges Takeaway

Baogang’s statement is more than a corporate roadmap—it reflects China’s broader strategic ambitions in critical minerals, industrial metals, and high-tech materials. It signals intensified competition, a state-backed push for market dominance, and China’s commitment to staying ahead in the global rare earth and critical minerals race. The West must move beyond fragmented private-sector approaches and adopt a more strategic, government-supported industrial policy if it hopes to compete effectively in this space. This will not involve a return to 19th-century mercantilism or economic nationalism but a new form of networked collaboration with multiple nations.