Highlights

• In 2025, Jiangxi's non-ferrous metals industry surpassed ¥1 trillion in revenue.
• This achievement marks Jiangxi's second trillion-yuan industrial cluster.
• The growth is attributed to aggressive supply-chain integration and technology upgrades under the '1269' industrial modernization plan.
• The province is a leader in rare earths (Ganzhou) and copper production, with a cluster worth over ¥600 billion.
• Innovations such as 3.5-micron battery foil have increased margins from $15/ton to $1,400/ton.
• Unmanned smelting has reduced costs by 10% while increasing productivity by 30%.
• Jiangxi's vertical integration spans mining, processing, advanced materials, and automation.
• This integration has increased Western exposure in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and defense systems.
• There's an underscored urgency for non-Chinese capacity in critical materials due to Jiangxi's dominance.

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China’s inland province of Jiangxi has crossed a major industrial threshold: in 2025, its non-ferrous metals industry generated more than ¥1 trillion (≈$140 billion) in revenue, becoming the province’s second trillion-yuan industrial cluster after electronics. The milestone reflects a structural shift from raw resource extraction toward higher-value manufacturing in copper, tungsten, and rare earths, according to a report carried by state-affiliated media.

Drivers: Industrial Policy--“1269” Industrialization Modernization Plan

The transformation was driven by aggressive supply-chain integration, technology upgrading, and policy coordination under Jiangxi’s “1269” industrial modernization plan. Over the past five years, industry scale expanded by more than ¥200 billion, signaling resilience in what was once a low-margin, resource-dependent sector.

A central pillar is rare earths, anchored in Ganzhou (opens in a new tab)—often called China’s “Rare Earth Kingdom.” By building dense upstream-to-downstream clusters and attracting anchor firms, Jiangxi now hosts a fully integrated rare-earth value chain, spanning oxides, metals, permanent magnets, motors, and high-end equipment.

State-Owned Enterprises

With China Rare Earth Group acting as the lead enterprise, the region’s rare-earth new-materials and applications cluster has been elevated to national advanced-manufacturing status.

Copper is the other growth engine. By integrating production across Yingtan, Shangrao, Fuzhou, and Nanchang, Jiangxi has built a ¥600+ billion copper-based new-materials cluster capable of producing more than 90% of global copper and copper-alloy grades. High-end copper products now represent over 63% of output, with multiple products holding global or domestic market-share leadership. Provincial planners aim to push the cluster past ¥1 trillion in revenue by 2027, tightly coupling copper materials with EVs, clean energy, and advanced equipment.

Innovation & Profits

Innovation is changing margins. Battery-grade copper foil producers in Jiangxi have pushed thickness to 3.5 microns, enabling profit per ton to jump from roughly $15 for basic copper wire to over $1,400 for lithium-battery foil. At the processing level, Jiangxi Copper’s Guixi smelter now runs the world’s first fully unmanned copper-anode production line, cutting costs and energy use by ~10% while lifting productivity 30%. Several core performance metrics now rank global best-in-class.

Upstream innovation matters too. Jiangxi-based magnetic-separation equipment—exported globally—now recovers high-grade titanium and other metals from tailings at a massive scale, underscoring China’s growing advantage in materials recovery and process equipment.

Why Worry in the West?

Jiangxi’s rise shows how China is locking in advantage across critical materials supply chains, not just mining but processing, advanced materials, automation, and standards-ready manufacturing.

This means that for the U.S. and allies, this deepens exposure in EVs, batteries, power electronics, and defense-relevant systems, reinforcing the urgency of building non-Chinese copper, rare-earth processing, and advanced-materials capacity.

Disclaimer: This news item originates from Chinese state-affiliated media and enterprises. All figures, performance claims, and policy impacts should be independently verified through non-Chinese or third-party sources before being used for investment, policy, or strategic decision-making.