Baogang’s High-Level Strategy Meeting – Protecting China’s Rare Earth and Critical Mineral Dominance?

Highlights

• China’s state-backed Baogang Group is strategically consolidating its rare earth and critical mineral industry to maintain global dominance.
• Western nations struggle to compete with China’s centralized, government-directed approach to rare earth mineral production and processing.
• The strategic workshop highlights China’s commitment to controlling the entire critical mineral supply chain through innovation, centralization, and aggressive market expansion.

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China’s Baogang Group, a major player in the global steel and rare earth industry, just concluded a three-day strategic workshop (opens in a new tab) in Inner Mongolia. The event aligned corporate leadership with national priorities and reinforced the group’s role in China’s industrial dominance. It gathered top executives from Baogang Group, Northern Rare Earths, Baogang Mining, and other subsidiaries, reinforcing the company’s focus on long-term economic and industrial policy.

Background—the West must think Differently

The difficulty in understanding the rare earth element (REE) and critical mineral sector in the West, particularly in the United States, stems from the fundamental clash between economic systems. In the West, free-market capitalism dictates that competition, price discovery, and private enterprise drive industries forward. However, the global rare earth market is not governed by these principles—it is controlled by a state-backed monopoly, a network of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating under a centrally coordinated, long-term strategic plan. This monopoly is not simply about economic efficiency; it is an instrument of geopolitical and industrial policy, ensuring that China dominates the supply chain from extraction to advanced materials and finished products.

Western markets struggle to respond effectively because free-market principles assume that competition will naturally lead to supply chain resilience. But in the case of rare earths, this assumption fails. China’s control over production, processing, and pricing allows it to undercut competitors, dictate global supply, and even weaponize access to these materials when necessary.

The capital-intensive nature of rare earth mining and processing, combined with long permitting times and environmental regulations in the West, makes it nearly impossible for private companies to compete on commercial terms. As a result, a free-market approach alone cannot quickly counterbalance a system where an authoritarian state directs resources, subsidizes operations, and exerts market control as part of a broader geopolitical strategy. Without government intervention and strategic planning, Western nations will more than likely remain vulnerable to supply disruptions and market manipulation. And so far, even under the aggressive dynamics of this Trump presidency, the same outcomes are likely.  

Back to the workshop in China.

China’s Rare Earth Strategy in Action

The workshop centered around a critical theme: “Liberating the Mind, Adopting a Problem-Solving Approach, and Driving New Momentum for High-Quality Development.” This phrase reflects China’s ongoing efforts to tighten control over its rare earth industry, refine domestic processing capabilities, and elevate its state-backed enterprises to a new level of competitiveness.

Some key highlights from the meeting:

• Rare Earths Take Center Stage: Leaders stressed the importance of Baogang’s role in ensuring a strong close to China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025)—a blueprint for economic and industrial power.
• Government-Backed Reforms: The group emphasized deepening state-led reforms in the rare earth sector, suggesting upcoming policies to streamline further and centralize China’s dominance over these critical materials.
• Industrial Innovation & Market Expansion: Baogang officials underscored technological advancements and global expansion as key strategies for securing China’s stronghold in the global supply chain for critical minerals.

What This Means for the West

Baogang’s high-level strategy session is not just an internal corporate meeting—it is a state-aligned initiative that signals Beijing’s continued efforts to reinforce its global control over rare earths and critical minerals.

While Western governments and industries struggle to create independent supply chains, China is doubling down on efficiency, centralization, and innovation to keep its competitive edge.

Want to know how China’s moving to reproduce its’ monopoly ongoing? Pay attention to the following:

1. Strategic Centralization: Unlike the fragmented U.S. approach to rare earths, China continues consolidating its industry, integrating mining, processing, and magnet production into a seamless ecosystem.
2. Speed and Execution: Baogang’s push for immediate implementation of policies and reforms contrasts sharply with the U.S. and Europe’s slow-moving regulatory and permitting processes. China is positioning itself to outpace the West in every stage of the supply chain.
3. Aggressive Market Expansion: The emphasis on high-quality development and international market positioning suggests that China may expand its influence on rare earths and critical minerals beyond domestic production, possibly by increasing partnerships in Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia, regions rich in untapped deposits.

The West Needs More Than Just Policy—It Needs Execution

Baogang’s leadership understands something that Washington, Brussels, and Canberra have yet to grasp: fully controlling the rare earth supply chain is not just about mining; it’s about complete industrial integration—the entire supply chain or its most critical parts.

If the U.S. and its allies are serious about reducing dependence on China, they must:

• Integrate government agencies to coordinate and orchestrate the world of minerals and elements
• Streamline permitting and regulatory processes to fast-track rare earth mining and processing.
• Invest aggressively in refining and magnet manufacturing, where China still dominates.
• Forge real, production-ready alliances instead of just signing diplomatic agreements that take years to materialize.
• Develop industrial expertise in separation technologies—the most critical and most difficult step in rare earth processing.
• Invest heavily in disruptive processes and technologies.

Baogang’s recent strategy session is a clear sign that China is not just maintaining its dominance—it’s escalating its efforts to secure its place as the unchallenged leader in rare earths and critical minerals. The West, meanwhile, remains stuck in a cycle of bureaucracy and half-measures. Unless serious action is taken, China will continue to dictate the terms of global supply chains, leaving the rest of the world scrambling for alternatives.

Aligning State to Firm to Cause