Recently, the Baotou Industry and Information Technology Bureau reported that in 2024, the added value of Baotou's industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 14.3% year-on-year, surpassing the national average (5.8%) by 8.5 percentage points and the regional average (6.8%) by 7.5 percentage points. This marks 52 consecutive months of double-digit growth.
In 2024, the rare earth, crystalline silicon photovoltaic, steel, and aluminum industries will serve as the "four pillars" of Baotou's industrial sector, with their output values each exceeding RMB 100 billion, reaching RMB 103.05 billion, RMB 100.75 billion, RMB 100.98 billion, and RMB 100.21 billion, respectively. The added value of these three major industries maintained rapid growth: the rare earth industry grew by 27.3%, the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry by 26.1%, and the onshore wind power equipment industry by an impressive 108.5%. Together, these industries contributed 12.4 percentage points to the added value growth of industrial enterprises above designated size, accounting for 86.6% of the total growth.
In 2024, among the 30 key products monitored by Baotou City, the output of 15 products increased compared to the previous year. Notably, the output of rare earth compounds surged by 1.8 times, single rare earth metals by 22.4%, and rare earth magnetic materials by 58.8%. Additionally, polysilicon output rose by 94.7%, monocrystalline silicon by 94.4%, and aluminum by 73.9%.
Strategic Importance of Rare Earth
Rare earth elements are indispensable in modern industry, playing a critical role in advancing scientific and technological progress, driving industrial upgrading, and ensuring national security.
Military Applications: Rare earth significantly enhances the performance of steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and titanium alloys used in manufacturing tanks, aircraft, and missiles. They are essential strategic materials in electronics, lasers, nuclear industries, and aerospace.
Metallurgical Industry: Adding rare earth to steel refines grain structures, improving strength, toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance.
Petrochemical Industry: Rare earth molecular sieve catalysts are highly active, selective, and resistant to heavy metal poisoning, making them widely used in petroleum catalytic cracking processes to increase the yield of light oils such as gasoline.
Electronics and Information Technology: Rare earth elements are used to manufacture various electronic components. For example, neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets, the strongest permanent magnets available, are widely used in mobile phone vibration motors, headphones, and hard disk drives.
Baotou is home to the world's largest rare earth mine—the Bayan Obo Mine. This mine boasts vast rare earth reserves, accounting for approximately 83% of China's total rare earth oxide reserves and about 38% of the global total. The primary rare earth ores are fluorocarbon cerium and monazite, accompanied by significant amounts of iron, niobium, thorium, and other valuable elements. These abundant rare earth resources provide a solid foundation for Baotou's rare earth industry, establishing the city as a crucial rare earth production and research base both in China and globally.
